The Warrior of Hope
by sammydalammy
Summary: What if there was another Legendary Warrior?  Digimon Frontier, my way. Rating just to be safe. OCxKoji
1. All Aboard

The Warrior of Hope

**A/N: This story is my very first fanfiction so please review and tell me what you think. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own digimon, and I probably never will. *sigh***

Standing on a train in the middle of a foreign country was definitely not what I wanted to be doing right now. I mean sure, it was awesome being in Japan, but I missed my home in the USA. I wonder what my friends are doing right now, I would just text them, but it would cost way too much to even text them. I looked around the train at all of the other kids my age and noticed not for the first time that they were all wearing school uniforms. I looked down at my baggy shirt with green and grey stripes and black roses over a black tank top. My skinny jeans that I knew all my friends would be wearing and my amazing purple Nikes that looked good with almost everything I had to wear. Sure, my clothes might sound weird, but it was my favorite outfit and was supposed to give me good luck on my first day here in Japan. I blew my brown hair out of my eyes and once again thought that I needed a haircut, I mean mid-back hair just isn't my style. I took out my iPod to listen to music and I caught a glimpse of my green eyes that practically named me.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket as I reached the Jiyuugaoka train station that was just a block away from our temporary apartment. I flipped open my phone and saw a message that said, "Your destiny is waiting, would you like to play?" Under this message there were two buttons, one saying yes and the other saying no. I rolled my eyes, but instead of putting my phone away and ignoring it like I would usually do, I clicked the yes button. I then heard a voice that said, "Jade Gallagher, you will now face your destiny, take the 5:45 train from Jiyuugaoka station to Shibuya." Considering the fact that I was already there I hurried to the ticket dispenser and bought a ticket. I got on the train and saw a goggle-headed boy rush to barely make it on before the train started moving. My cell phone vibrated when we were about half way there and it told me to transfer to the 6 o'clock subway from Shibuya station. I heard a lot of other cell phones go off and figured that I wasn't the only one playing this game. The goggle-head groaned when he saw the new message and I laughed when he said that he wasn't going to make it. He gave me a weird look like I had just sprouted wings from my back. I checked just to make sure but then gave him a confused look as my back was the same as it had always been.

The train stopped at Shibuya station and I hurried to the closest elevator from which I saw goggle-head darting through crowds to get to the elevator next to mine. The doors shut and I was cut off from the outside world as the elevator sped up more and more way past the basement, and then suddenly it stopped. My knees were weak from the drop and I was starting to regret this little trip when I got a new message on my phone. This one said, "Now it is up to you to decide what train to get on." I looked up in surprise, completely forgetting that I had come down here to get on a train. There were about twenty trains lined up and there were kids all around getting on them and socializing. I hurried over to a silver train and got on board, hoping that I wouldn't be the last one on. As it turned out, I was the only one on. I sighed as I looked out the window and saw goggle-head get on the red train next to mine with three other kids on it. The trains started moving and a concrete barrier was in between our trains. Suddenly, the back door to my car opened and in stepped a boy. He had black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail under a blue and yellow striped bandana. His dark hair made his blue eyes really stand out. He had a blue jacket with yellow stripes down the side of the arms on over a yellow tee-shirt. His grey pants didn't cover his white and blue shoes at all.

I realized that I had been staring at him and he had been raising his eyebrows at me for a solid minute. "Uh, hi, sorry about that, my name's Jade. What's yours?" I blushed as I stuttered my introduction.

"Koji Minamoto." He replied in a monotone voice. I bit my lip and as I was about to say something else the train suddenly jerked forward and I fell on top of him, knocking him to the ground. Some weird lights started flashing and I saw Koji's face being outlined by a wolf mask. As soon as the lights flashed back on I realized that I was still on top of him. I blushed so badly that my entire face was red and as I got up. "I am so, so sorry, I totally was not expecting that! Did I hurt you? I am so sorry, please forgive me." I bowed my head in embarrassment and shame. "It's fine; did you notice your face during that weird electrical surge?"

"Was there something wrong with my face? All I can remember is your face had a wolf mask over it or something." Now that I thought about it I probably sounded really stupid saying that.

"There was a weird half demon, half angel mask on your face and it was really giving me the chills to look at it." I was busy thinking about the fact that his voice had shown emotion when I finally processed his words. "Wait, my face looked half demon and half angel?" I put my hands to my face and felt my eyebrows scrunch up like they did whenever I was worried. "Don't worry; it's gone now I'm sure it was just us seeing things, right?"

"Right, there is nothing to worry about it; it was just the light playing tricks on our eyes." My voice didn't have any confidence in it, but we both let it slide. "So…" I stopped what I was about to say when I noticed that he was holding some strange device in his hands. It was white and blue and it looked like it was meant to scan something. "What is that?"

He looked in his hand and saw the strange device. "Hey, what happened to my cell phone?" At that I looked to my own hand where my cell phone was supposed to be and saw a device just like his except mine was dark purple and white. "Dang it, that was my brand new phone!" I know that I was whining, but still, my phone was like my life. I took a seat and looked out the window. "Can this get any worse?" Then I noticed that there was no ground beneath the train, only train tracks. I smacked my forehead on the glass, "Of course!"

Koji was giving me a weird look so I gestured towards the window. He looked outside and shook his head at our luck. "Well, I guess it could get worse." He smirked at me. "I'm glad that you can still make jokes about this Koji. I mean, we could die at any moment, but at least you now have a sense of humor." He laughed at my theatrics. Wait, he laughed? Monotone Koji laughed? Yep, he was definitely laughing, and his eyes were brighter than I could have ever guessed that they could get. Wow, maybe he went crazy. When he saw my confused look his eyes widened as if he hadn't realized what he was doing until then. His face quickly went neutral, but his eyes still had that shine in them that definitely wasn't there before.

"Um, sorry about that I don't know what came over me." I could tell that he was going to try his hardest not to lose it again. I smiled at him, "Don't worry about it, it was actually great to see you laugh, you should do it more often." He blushed at my words, but quickly hid it by pointing out that we were getting close to land. I looked out the window to see a giant explosion of green flames, cutting off one of the railroad lines next to ours. As I looked closer I realized that goggle-head was holding on to the tracks for dear life. I lost sight of him as he fell into a cave. I watched the cave until I saw more flames, except this time they were just normal orange and yellow. From what I could see there was a battle going on between two strange looking creatures. I couldn't get a really good look at them but I could tell when the one who shot out green flames lost. The other creature made him disintegrate. The creature then had a strange blue light floating around it before turning into a boy, and not just any boy, goggle-head himself! I stared blankly as he did something to make a forest appear around what I thought was a floating island. "Wow, this just gets weirder and weirder." Koji nodded in agreement.


	2. Lobomon Warrior of Light

**A/N: Chapter 2! Wow, I hope that I'm doing a good job…Please let me know by reviewing! But, enough talk, on to the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own digimon...**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 2<strong>

The train pulled into the station. I started walking towards the exit, when my strange device started to talk. In a woman's voice it said, "Jade Gallagher, this is your D-Tector, you will use it to find the spirit." "What spirit? Why do I have to look for it? Can't goggle-head take care of this while I just relax?" "Only you can find your own spirit and once you find it your questions will be answered." My D-Tector displayed a little map and I assumed that I had to walk towards the dot.

Koji had just gotten finished with his own talk with his D-Tector and he didn't look happy. I looked down at the map on his screen and saw that his went a different way than mine. "Well, I guess this is where we part." Koji looked surprised that I would come to that conclusion. I pointed to my screen to show him that I had to go a different way from here. "Okay, I guess I'll see you around then." His voice sounded a little sad. "Aw, don't worry Koji; I'm sure that your emotions could have a break after all of the work I've put them through." I smirked at his frowning face and started to walk out of the station, only to run into a couple of boys and knock them to the ground.

"Ouch! Could you look where you're going?" A boy in a blue and yellow jumpsuit asked. I looked down and saw I was crushing the poor kid who had been walking next to the other boy. I quickly got up and helped them up while taking the time to get a good look at them. The boy in the jumpsuit had dark blue eyes and brown hair. His blue and yellow shoes had a little dirt on them, probably from me. The boy next to him was only a kid. He had a giant yellow hat that almost completely covered his light brown hair. His green eyes were looking curiously into mine. He was wearing a white tee-shirt and yellow pants with orange suspenders. His shoes were green and white, just like the D-Tector he held in his hand.

"I am so sorry that I ran into you guys. By the way, my name is Jade, Jade Gallagher." I smiled at them to show that I was sincere. "I'm Tommy Himi." The kid with the D-Tector said. "My name is J.P. Shibayama." The older boy said. I turned to Tommy, "So, are you supposed to be looking for a spirit too?" I gestured down to his D-Tector. "Looking for a spirit? Oh, you mean to turn into a Digimon like Takuya did." I shrugged, "Sure, if that's what you want to call it." "Listen," J.P. interrupted, "we have to go, if you want to talk about Digimon, go see Takuya and Zoe, we are going home." With that he took Tommy's hand and led him to the train and then proceeded to try to get the train to take him home for some chocolate. When the train took off without them I couldn't help but laugh. J.P. glared at me, but before he could do anything we were surrounded by little creatures that were just heads, no bodied, no feet, just heads. The little guys told J.P. that they wanted more chocolate. J.P. denied them and told them to go away. They started yelling that they wanted chocolate and attacked us. They were biting us and there were so many of them that I knew we had to run. I grabbed Tommy's hand and ran across the tracks, helping Tommy so that he didn't trip.

We left the train station and passed through the village making all of the little ghost-like Digimon hide. We finally passed the last of the buildings and headed over a bridge that led to the forest. They were starting to catch up to us, so we zigzagged through the trees and eventually we lost them, so we hid under a ledge. Tommy started messing with his D-Tector. "Come on, I know that you can make me digivolve, so just do it!" He was yelling at his D-Tector pretty loudly, so J.P. tried to hush him, but as he was turned around, I saw that the little Digimon had found us. "Run!" I said. We started to run, but the earth cracked beneath us and we fell down into a hole in the earth.

We were sitting in a flower patch underground. I checked myself for bruises and found that I was fine. "Hey kiddo, you okay?" J.P. asked Tommy. "Yeah I'm fine, Jade are you okay?" I smiled at him, "Never better." "Okay, then we'd better get moving." J.P. said, obviously trying to be the leader. I helped Tommy up and started walking through the maze of pipes that was around us. I noticed that Tommy had started marking pipes when we passed them. Wow, this kid is really smart. I would have never thought of that. I sighed, outsmarted by a fourth grader. J.P. suddenly stopped, picked up some leaves, and dropped them to see which way the wind was blowing. "The wind is blowing this way, so if we keep going this way, then we will find our way out." "Are you sure?" Tommy asked. "Yeah, why do you ask?" "I made this x on this pipe when we came here before." "Well, it looks like we were just headed in circles." I sighed; maybe I should have just gone with Koji. Tommy started crying so J.P. offered us both candy bars. "Well, at least we won't starve." He said. Tommy nodded his head in agreement. Then the little Digimon that were chasing us before suddenly attacked again and we were forced to run, but not before J.P. threw some chocolate bars at them.

We ran through the pipes into a big room with a hole in the middle of the floor. J.P. and Tommy were screaming for help, but I was trying to conserve my energy. I suddenly felt teeth on my skin and I knew that we couldn't run anymore I started hitting them away, but could tell that I was getting nowhere. My energy was quickly deteriorating, and just when I was about to collapse, I saw Koji. He slid down a pipe, yelling the whole way down. The Digimon were startled, but then they went to attack Koji. He broke the metal pipe that he used to get down and used it as a weapon. It was amazing, he attacked and it was totally ninja, as my friends and I usually say. He finally beat back the last of them when they all converged around him and just when I thought that he had won, the leader of the Digimon changed into a sludge monster.

I backed away towards where we came in so that I wouldn't get in the way. The new Digimon was called Raremon, according to my D-Tector. Koji started to attack it, but it spit acid sludge at Tommy and J.P., who were gawking at Raremon. Koji picked Tommy up and saved him from the sludge, but the floor now had dozens of holes where Raremon's attack had hit. Koji was darting around the room, trying to keep Tommy safe when goggle-head and a girl walked in. I finally took the time to actually look at what goggle-head was wearing. He had a green hat on under his goggles that covered up his brown hair. He was wearing a red, short-sleeved jacket over a yellow tee-shirt with a black logo that I didn't recognize. He had on green gloves that matched his hat, cargo pants, and red and orange shoes. His brown eyes were so focused on his D-Tector that he didn't even see me looking at him.

The girl that had come in with him had a purple hat with little ears sticking up. Her blonde hair brought out the light purple in her eyes. She was wearing a purple vest over a blue and white striped shirt. Her just-above-the-knee length purple skirt matched her vest and hat. She had dark purple knee length socks and white and purple shoes. She saw me looking at her, but she quickly went back to yelling at goggle-head, who she called Takuya, to hurry up and digivolve already.

Koji was slowly being backed towards the giant hole in the middle of the room by Raremon, but all Takuya could do was yell at his D-Tector. I grabbed Koji's discarded pipe and rushed at Raremon, ready to fight to protect my friends. I brought the pipe down on Raremon's arm, but it just sunk right through and he started to laugh in a really creepy way. He threw me in Koji's direction, but I passed right by him. I was holding on to the edge of the hole, trying not to slip when I heard Takuya yell, "Spirit!" A blue ring surrounded his hand and he held his D-Tector against it saying, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" His body went through the process of morphing with the spirit. He threw a few punches, making fire come out of his hands and yelled, "Agunimon!" The Digimon that Takuya had become had a red mask with three horns on his face. He had waist length blonde hair. His body was covered in red and gold armor with flame patterns and tints of black.

Agunimon rushed at Raremon, pushing him against a wall and making him shoot his acid out of his mouth. Agunimon jumped back to protect Tommy and Koji, blocking acid sludge with his arms. He told them to run, but before they could he turned back into Takuya. Through all of this I was hanging in the hole, so I was trying to pull myself back up, when Raremon fired another attack and Takuya dove to save Tommy, but knocked Koji back into me, sending us both into the hole. I couldn't help but scream, I couldn't even see where the end was, but suddenly, the ground below us started glowing and I saw the wolf mask that covered Koji while we were in the train. I knew that he had found his spirit. Koji had no idea what was going on. He suddenly yelled, "Spirit!" and then proceeded to transform to his Digimon spirit. "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" When he was done transforming, he grabbed me, so that I wouldn't fall to my doom, and I finally got a good look at him. He had the wolf mask over his face. His short blonde hair ended just above his long silver and blue scarf. He had blue, black, and silver armor covering his body. He was, "Lobomon!" He floated down to the ground, then set me down and told me to run, I obeyed, running to where Takuya and Tommy were standing, admiring Lobomon's beauty. A short white Digimon with a horn on its head and a pink band around its waist that I hadn't noticed before took a book out of the pink band an told us that Lobomon was the legendary warrior of light. Everyone commented on how beautiful Lobomon was and then Raremon attacked.

Lobomon countered by using his Lobo Kendo attack to slice the sludge in two. He ran towards Raremon and used his sword to slice into Raremon's head. A glowing blue ring appeared around Raremon's body. "Now you talking trash heap, prepare to be recycled. Fractal code, digitize!" I watched as Koji used his D-Tector to take Raremon's fractal code. Koji then de-digivolved and fell on the ground panting. Takuya tried to help Koji up. "Don't touch me." He said. Takuya stumbled back in shock, "I don't need your help, or anyone else's, but I guess I should thank you for saving me. I always repay my debts."

"I didn't do it so you'd owe me, you know." Takuya was obviously frustrated. "My name's Koji Minamoto and you are?" Silence… "So, are you going to tell me? I can't repay you if I don't know your name." "I'm Takuya Kanbara." Koji turned away, "Takuya huh, see you." Koji started walking away and I figured that I'd better follow him so I left their dumbstruck expressions. Just when I was getting to the mouth of the cave I heard them call out, "Wait who are you?" I turned so that I was facing them, but was still walking, "My name's Jade Gallagher." I turned back the way I was going and tripped on a stray pipe. I fell flat on my face and when I pulled my face off the ground I was looking at Koji's laughing face. "Shut up." I said then proceeded to walk past him and out of the tunnel with him following close behind.

**A/N: I hope that that was a good chapter, please review so that I can change things if I'm doing them wrong.**


	3. Hope Revealed

**A/N: This is the chapter that I'm really nervous about, so please review so that I know if you love it or hate it.**

**Disclaimer: Digimon is not mine.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 3<strong>

I felt the wind blow through my hair and I felt so glad that I was finally out of that cave. "The wind of the digital world smells pretty sweet." Koji said. I gave him a surprised look. I don't usually hear Koji talk like that, of course, I've only known him for one day, but it feels like forever. "So, are you ready to search for my spirit with me?" He smirked at me, "What you haven't found it yet?" I grinned, "Nope, too busy falling down holes after trying to save people." He rolled his eyes, "Like you could have saved me from Raremon with that metal pipe." I raised my eyebrows at him, "Isn't it worth it to try?" He sighed in defeat, "I guess… when you don't land on your face in the process!" He laughed and started walking away. "Oh, no you don't you're coming with me to find my spirit!" I grabbed his arm and pulled him in the direction my D-Tector was pointing.

We walked into the heart of the forest, but it still didn't seem like we were getting anywhere. "So, any idea where your spirit might be hidden?" Koji was obviously bored with our search and it was only sunset. "Hey, look there's a village through these trees!" I pulled him with me through the trees towards the light. I looked around and saw that the occupants of the village looked like white and purple cats. I walked up to one of them and said, "Excuse me, but could you tell me where we are?" The cat-like digimon looked me up and down, "Well, isn't it obvious? You're in the Gatomon Village." "Gatomon Village? Does that mean that you are the Gatomon?" She blinked at me then laughed, "Wow humans sure have gotten stupid over the years!" I narrowed my eyes at her, but Koji pulled me back before I could get in a "cat fight".

"We're not here to make enemies with them, right?" I sighed and blew the hair off of my face, "Right." Suddenly, my D-Tector started beeping and I glanced down at the screen, trying to pinpoint my spirit's location. "Look out!" The Gatomon that we talked to before pushed us out of the way of a dart. "What was that?" I looked around in bewilderment for the source of the attack. "It's DemiDevimon!" The Gatomon replied. Then, what looked like a cross between a bowling ball and a bat flew up to us and said, "Demi Dart!" I jumped out of the way of the dart, and Koji did too, but our Gatomon friend wasn't so lucky. "Run, don't get hit by the darts!" She said before drifting off to sleep. "Koji, we have to help them!" He pressed the side button on his D-Tector and the ring of blue light appeared around his hand. "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" He transformed into Lobomon and stood facing the DemiDevimon. "Hey guys, I think I need some help over here!" Ten more DemiDevimon came and surrounded Lobomon. They all attacked at once with their Demi Dart attack. Lobomon dodged most of them, but two of them hit and he fell to his knees.

"Lobomon!" I yelled. I have to help him, but what can I do? I can't even digivolve. I looked around and found some sharp rocks. I was suddenly glad for all of those years that I played softball. I threw the rocks. Hitting the DemiDevimon one by one, sure they tried to counter with more Demi Darts, but I was quick to get out of their way. I finally defeated all but the leader, when he gave an evil laugh. "You think that I will go down that easily?" I prepared myself for whatever he was going to do, but nothing would have prepared me for him digivolving into what my D-Tector called Devimon. It had tattered black wings, with a longer right arm with a claw at the end. His red jumpsuit had a red bat on the chest. He had to black horns coming from his helmet and his mouth was visible underneath to show his fangs. I shuddered at this grotesque digimon and wished that I could fight, but I didn't think that I could. I looked over my shoulder at Lobomon, who by now was trying to get up and fight again, even though he was obviously too weak for it. He slowly got up. "Howling Laser!" He fired at Devimon, and did quite a bit of damage, but he was still so weak. Devimon attacked, "The Touch of Evil!" He stabbed Lobomon with his claws. "No!" I could feel the tears in my eyes, now who was going to save the Gatomon? Lobomon was our only chance. "Believe that you can do it. You just have to believe." Those were Lobomon's last words before he faded into Koji and then passed out. "Koji, get up! You have to; I can't do this on my own!" I remembered his words. How can I believe? I looked down at his unconscious body and made my decision.

"I can do this! You are going down, for Koji and Gatomon!" A bright light appeared at the back of the village. "Spirit!" I called out, knowing that it was mine. I felt the spirit calling out to me. "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" I felt my brunette hair change into blonde and white braided together and coming down to my thigh. I had a tattered black wing on the left side of my back, and a feathery white wing on the right. My left hand is replaced with a claw with red tips and a white glove with small wings at the wrist covers my right hand. A jumpsuit that is swirled black and white has a grey belt at my waist. The jumpsuit ends on the left side slashed off at mid-thigh, on the right it ends like a bikini bottom would, under that two grey belts are mid-thigh. A black ankle boot is folded over to show purple on my left foot, while on my right a white ankle boot is folded over to show gold trim over white. A purple shawl covers my right shoulder and transforms into chains on my left. My helmet is black with stitches everywhere on my left with a red eye showing through, on the right is half of a cross with angel wings coming off the side.

I felt that my transformation was complete so I shouted out my name, "DeviAngewomon!" Devimon's evil smile turned into a shocked expression. "M-m-my l-lady, I h-ha-had no idea-" I cut him off. "You have no right to call me your lady, you have attacked my friends, and now you shall pay!" "Evil Charm!" I made a dark cross in the sky using my claw. The cross wrapped around Devimon and swallowed him up whole. I looked back to Koji and Gatomon who were still lying on the ground. The other Gatomon were staring at me in awe. "Bring them here." I told them. Inside, I had no idea why I had so much authority over them, but the digimon in me knew that they would obey. Once my friends were close I used my healing power, "Celestial Blessing!" A healing powder fell over my friends and they woke up in a matter of minutes.

Once I saw that they were perfectly healed, I fell to the ground in my human form. Koji came to my side and helped me up by putting my arm over his shoulder. The Gatomon all wanted to help me for some unknown reason, probably because I defeated Devimon, yes that is definitely why. A part of me was telling me that it was something else, but I was too tired to listen. Suddenly, my D-Tector beeped and the woman's voice said, "Go to the Forest Terminal." I sighed, never a dull moment. "Are you ready to go?" I asked Koji. He nodded and the Gatomon offered us a Trailmon to take us to the Forest Terminal. We accepted and once on the train I described everything that happened while Koji was unconscious to Koji. We passed over a bridge and I looked down the canyon where there appeared to be candles along the side of the river. Well, that's just silly, I must be really tired. "I think I'm going to get some shut eye, wake me if anything happens, okay?" "Of course, you've been through a lot and you need your rest." He smiled at me and I closed my eyes.

**A/N: Ok, now you see what I was nervous about? Please review, I need to know if I'm on the right track. :) **


	4. Kazemon Kicks It

**A/N: Chapter 4 has now arrived! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned digimon, then there would be more girl digidestined, and seing as there isn't, I don't own digimon.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 4<br>Kazemon Kicks It**

I awoke to the sound of Trailmon's wheezing as we were going up a hill. I stretched my arms and looked around the car to see the Koji was staring at me. "Um, hi." I didn't know what to say. Was I snoring while asleep? Did I talk? Was it something embarrassing? I bit my lip in worry. "We are coming up to the station, so I think that I'm going to get some rest. Do you think you could stand watch for a couple of hours?" He obviously trusted me to wake him up if something happened. "Sure thing, is this the Forest Terminal?" "I don't know, but I guess we'll find out."

We stepped off the train-like digimon and Koji went to lie down on a bench. I sighed; this was going to be a long night. I figured that I should take a look around. I walked around the base of the giant tree that seemed to be a part of the station. There were a few houses surrounding the tree, but not many. The place was really run down, the trees all had no leaves, and there wasn't any grass, just dirt. "Who would want to live in this dump?" "It didn't used to be this bad." I looked down to see what looked like a talking flower. "I'm Floramon, and Breezy Village used to be one of the most popular tourist attractions in all the Digital World. Now, we're lucky to see even one train pass by a month." Floramon had a really downcast expression on her face. "Hey, it's alright; by the way, do you have any food around here? I'm starving." I grinned at her. Her face lit up and she took me to her house.

I quickly ate the soup, not caring that it came from inside her head. "This stuff is delicious, you really have a gift." I stood up to leave so that I could go and keep watch over Koji. Her face fell, "You're not leaving already, are you?" She looked at me with a hopeful expression. "I just need to keep watch over my friend while he sleeps, I don't want him to wake up thinking that I wasn't doing what I was supposed to." Even though I kind of wasn't doing what I was supposed to by being here, I was glad that I made Floramon happy. She smiled and nodded and I went outside into the breezy morning air. I walked over to the bench and sat down on the ground.

"Hey Z, wait up!" I looked up to see J.P. chasing after the blonde girl, who was reading the Breezy Village sign. "Is this the Forest Terminal?" She asked. I shook my head at her while the little white digimon explained that this was Breezy Village, not the Forest Terminal. "Welcome tourists, so, this isn't it?" "Oh, hi Koji, what's up?" Koji turned away from the blonde and started walking down the tracks. "Uh, where are you going?" He paused, "Where I go is my business." I watched him start to walk away, but he turned back to look at me. "Are you coming?" I shook my head, "I'm going to hang out here for a while, and I'll catch up to you later." He shrugged, "Whatever."

"Ugh, couldn't you be a little more social?" Then she turned her eyes on me. "Who are you?" Her blank expression made me laugh. "I'm Jade Gallagher, and you are?" "Zoe Orimoto." She smiled at me like it was Christmas morning and I was her new present. I started to back away slowly. "Finally, another girl to talk to!" She ran across the tracks and grabbed my arm. "So, are you looking for your spirit too? Wouldn't it be awesome to turn into a digimon? I mean really, it can't just be boys who get to digivolve, right?" She gave me a hopeful expression. Normally I would agree with her and tell her about my experience, but she was kind of freaking me out with all of the questions. "Sure, I'm sure you'll be able to digivolve soon." Maybe it will take some of your energy with it. She smiled and gave J.P. an I-told-you-so look. J.P. sighed and started walking around. "So, you and Koji seem like good friends," she started, "so what is his deal? Why doesn't he want to hang out with us, but he does want to hang out with you?" "He reminds me of white chocolate, looks good, but has no taste." J.P. obviously had to make a reference to food. I rolled my eyes. "He just likes to be alone, and I respect that. Listen, can we not talk about this? How about we try to help Breezy Village?" Zoe gave me a blank stare, "Breezy Village needs help?" "Yes, Breezy Village is known for its lush greenery and great views, but right now, there isn't much to see."

Zoe ran off to see what great views there could be, but J.P. stopped suddenly when a beeping noise came from his pocket. He pulled out a blue and yellow D-Tector and said, "Hey my D-Tector is doing something, maybe my spirit is somewhere close by!" I looked up in the tree to see Zoe standing on one of the tree branches letting the wind blow through her hair. J.P. ran up behind her and started yelling, "Zoe, my D-Tector is flashing!" Zoe turned around, but lost her footing and fell down to another branch, where she slid down the tree and right on top of the Floramon. They all started to giggle and I sighed in relief, "These guys are a Trailmon wreck waiting to happen." I mumbled under my breath.

The Floramon insisted on feeding us lunch, and I didn't want to decline, not knowing when we would get to eat again. They made more of that delicious soup that I ate last night and everyone else seemed to love it too. "Malto Bano, yum!" Zoe exclaimed. I raised my eyebrows at her foreign words. "Um, melted what?" J.P. asked. "Malto Bano is Italian for delicious, this soup's great!" The Floramon all cheered. "I must know, what do you call this soup?" "Bram soup ah la Floramon, based on the way we cook it, allow us to demonstrate. First, you take a ripe bram fruit and you place it in your head, then you shake your head and it turns it into soup." They did a little dance around the room and then poured us all fresh soup from out their noses. "Here, eat up!" "It's brain food!" I thought about the two bowls that were already in my stomach and groaned. How did I eat that? Zoe walked outside with Floramon and they started talking about how the giant tree made the breeze. Floramon then explained how nobody wanted to visit Breezy Village anymore, just like she had told me last night.

I thought about what we could do to help the Floramon. We couldn't make the leaves grow back on the trees, but we could plant flowers and such. Right when I was about to suggest this, Zoe said, "Even if we tell everyone about your village, you still need to do something, plant new flowers!" "We've tried that, but we're just not strong enough to dig in the hard soil." "Well, I can help," Zoe winked at me, "I know this strong guy." We both nodded in J.P.'s direction. The Floramon grabbed his arms and started pulling him towards us. "You have arms like tree trunks; you'll be a good digger!" "Me, no way!" J.P. protested. Then Zoe used her charm on him, "You know what impresses me, strong guys who are willing to help others without even being asked." After that, J.P. just wanted to help out and work. I smirked at Zoe and she laughed.

We got to work finding shovels and flowers to plant. We told J.P. to dig the holes, and we would plant the flowers and pat the dirt in around them. It was hard work, but things really were starting to look better. The little white digimon that I learned was named Bokomon put the dull yellow skinny rabbit digimon who wears oversized red pants named Neemon to work. Bokomon took the time to boss us around, even though he wasn't doing hardly any work. I couldn't help but laugh when Neemon tipped the wheel barrel over, making Bokomon fall off and get covered in dirt.

"Wow if we keep working, this place will look great in no time!" Zoe's optimistic statement was met by sighs from the Floramon. "No?" Zoe's happy face turned confused. "The Mushroommon will wreck it." The Floramon replied. Evil laughter was heard from the surrounding forest. Three walking mushroom that I assume are Mushroommon jumped out from the trees and laughed at our surprised expressions. They threw little mushrooms at J.P. and some of the Floramon and made them fall back on their butts.

The Mushroommon had just ruined all of our hard work and I wasn't going to stand for that. I grabbed my D-Tector and pressed the side button. A ring of blue light surrounded my hand, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" I felt my wings come out of my back. My left hand extended to make a claw, and my brown hair turned white and blonde and twisted into a braid. "DeviAngewomon!" "Giggle Grenade!" The Mushroommon yelled before throwing more mushrooms at us. I dodged, but the attack still hit the Floramon. They started laughing and it didn't look like they could stop. I noticed that J.P. and Zoe were perfectly fine. "Please, stop doing this. We used to welcome the guests together when they came to our Breezy Village, why are you doing this?" The Floramon said in between laughs. "They always liked you flower girls better than us." They replied. "Now, enough talk, Mushroom Mash!" They threw more bombs and one hit the house behind us. "Yes, enough talk!" I was getting really mad now. "Heaven's Wave!" I spread my arms and angels with bat wings floated out and started to attack the Mushroommon. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bokomon lecturing Neemon and snapping his red pants. Ouch, I'd hate to get on his bad side. While I was distracted, the Mushroommon defeated my dark angels and they threw more explosive mushrooms at me.

"Wait!" Zoe yelled, "Can't we all just get along? You were once at peace, and just because you got the short end of the stick doesn't mean that you can barge in here and destroy all of our hard work." I paused at Zoe's words, "You're right Zoe, and I'm sorry Mushroommon." They nodded at my apology. J.P. then walked up, obviously trying to impress Zoe and said, "Yeah you toadstool heads can't go around barging in with your purple mushroom caps because they're just plain ugly!" I slapped my head at his stupidity and Zoe blinked at him, "You just insulted them, that is totally wrong." His eyes widened in surprise and the Mushroommon took that time to attack him for his harsh words. "You shouldn't have said that, now you're going to pay!" They threw more mushrooms at him as he started running for the tree.

J.P.'s D-Tector started to go off again and he started yelling for his spirit to come out and help him. J.P. tripped and Zoe called out, "J.P.!" Suddenly, a pink light came from inside the tree and I knew that it was Zoe's because hello, it was pink. J.P. called out to the spirit, and in his defense I guess it was headed straight towards him, but he was just in the middle of it and Zoe. The spirit passed straight through him and to Zoe. Zoe's hand had the blue ring that I was beginning to recognize and she yelled, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!"

When the transformation was complete, Zoe had butterfly wings and purple hair. Her face was covered with a white visor with wings at the back of it. She was wearing a purple bikini, white gloves, and purple thigh length boots. She was, "Kazemon!" "Wow, she's a butterfly!" Neemon said joyfully. "She's not a butterfly; she's one of the legendary warriors! With the ancient spirit of the wind, she is Kazemon!"

I was kind of just sitting there in shock; I mean seriously, I turn half demon and half angel while she gets to turn into a butterfly? That is so not cool. The Mushroommon took this time to attack us. It's a good thing that Kazemon was paying attention, because I sure wasn't. "Hurricane Wave!" Mini tornadoes shot out of her hands and she blew the mushrooms away. The Mushroommon were getting pretty upset at this point so, they threw more mushrooms at us. To counter, Kazemon did a handstand and started twisting, "Tempest Twist!" She yelled and then she kicked each of the Mushroommon in the face.

"Revenge time!" The Mushroommon said before they stood on each other's shoulders and digivolved into a tree without leaves. I knew that I should probably pitch in at this point, so I used my Heaven's Charm attack again while Kazemon shouted, "Love Tap." And hit the tree that Bokomon called Woodmon. Woodmon got an infatuated look in his eye and she started a relentless kicking on the side of his head. My dark angels were doing a pretty good job helping out too. "Enough!" He pushed Kazemon off of him and was going to hit her with one of his logs. I flew towards her and pushed her out of the way, only to get hit myself and fall back on the ground. I felt myself turn back into a human.

"Jade, why did you do that?" Kazemon asked and before I could tell her to get her head back in the battle, Woodmon hit her with his arm and she fell to the ground, well not exactly to the ground, she landed right on top of me. As soon as she transformed back into a human I pushed her off of me and glared at the bruises I had gotten from her crash. Koji ran into the clearing and yelled at Woodmon to leave us alone. Woodmon attacked me and Zoe again, so we jumped out of the way. J.P. tried attacking Woodmon with a shovel, but he just got hit with one of the thick log arms.

Koji obviously couldn't take it anymore, because he pressed the side button on his D-Tector and yelled, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" He turned into Lobomon. He used his Lobo Kendo attack to create a crack in the middle of Woodmon's face. Woodmon just laughed at his efforts. Lobomon didn't waste time talking, "Howling Laser!" He shot his laser at the crack he made and Woodmon crumbled. Lobomon digitized his fractal code. The three Mushroommon were back and they had no idea what they had done. Lobomon jumped back and then transformed back into Koji who fell to his knees on the ground. His D-Tector started to beep, and so he pressed the button and the fractal code left his D-Tector. All around us the forest started to gain its beauty, trees got their leaves and the grass grew back. Everything became as gorgeous at it once was.

All of the Floramon were welcoming the Mushroommon back to the village with open arms. "They are all pretty happy because of you." Zoe smiled down at Koji. He just got up and left. I followed after him, shrugging my shoulders at Zoe's confused look. "You could try being nice, you know!" She yelled after us.

"Nice job helping Zoe out there." Koji smirked at me. "Hey, I was trying to let her be the hero; I'm not the kind of person who comes rushing in to save the day!" I stuck my tongue out at him. He laughed and said, "Didn't seem like that last night." I glared at him, "Some gratitude you have for someone who saved your life." I started to walk away, but he grabbed my hand, "You're right I am very grateful to you for saving my life." He then gave me a quick peck on the cheek before walking further into the forest. I stood there in shock for a minute before he called out, "Are you coming?" I ran to catch up to him.

**A/N: Did you like the ending? Because I sure liked writing it. :)  
>Do you think that I brought romance in too soon? Tell me with a review. *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*<strong>


	5. Questions

**A/N: Here it is! Enjoy! Also, thanks to The-Grey-Ninja and Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 for their reviews! They really made my day!**

**Disclaimer: Digimon is not mine.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 5<strong>

"So, what was that back there?" I blushed at the memory of his kiss. He smirked, "I don't know what you're talking about." Fine, he was going to play that game? I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. "So, tell me about yourself, what are your hobbies, what are your friends like?" He raised his eyebrows at me. "What? Am I not allowed to ask questions when you are allowed to kiss me?" I smiled innocently at him. He groaned, "I set myself up for that one. I don't know, I like to be alone. I study kendo in my free time, and that's about it. I don't usually get close to people; you guys are the only friends I've had since my mom passed away." I looked into his eyes and saw the hurt that he usually hid behind his scowl. "Oh, Koji, I'm so sorry. Do you want to talk about it?" He raised his eyes to my face and started, "I was only a kid when she passed, I can only remember a little. One thing I do remember was the yelling, my parents were having a fight, like they did a lot in those days. She walked toward the door and said she was going on a drive. She never came back. My father said that she got in a car crash while she was driving along the ocean. Her car went into the water, and they were never able to find it."

I wrapped my arms around Koji. He stiffened at my touch, but gradually embraced me. He smiled at me, "Thanks for listening." I nodded, "Whenever you need to talk, I will be here for you." I realized that we were still hugging and I pulled away, blushing. He laughed, "So, what's your story?" We started walking through the forest again. I shrugged, "Youngest child in a military family. We are always moving around and I never feel like I make any lasting friends. The last place we were was Utah, and I finally felt like I was fitting in when we moved here to Japan. I haven't really adjusted well here. Everyone thinks of me as foreign, and so they don't want to get to know the real me. My older sister is still in the USA, going to college and my brother loves changing his attitude every time we move somewhere new. I'm the only one who ever found it really stressing to move." I stared at the ground, partially so that I didn't trip, and partially so that I wouldn't have to look into those gorgeous blue eyes. My problems seemed so small compared to his, and I hated to complain. "I'm sorry, I've only ever lived in Japan, so I don't know how that feels." I looked up, startled at the pity in his eyes. "I didn't say that so that you would feel bad for me!" I was angry. I didn't want his pity, and I could take care of myself. I walked faster, away from the hurt look in his eyes.

When I got far enough ahead that when I looked back I could no longer see him, I sighed at my actions. I never let people get close. Sure, I smile at the little things that I probably won't remember in a week, but I won't let anyone see past it. It hurt too much, thinking that people were viewing my inner thought and judging me for them. I thought that I could be normal around Koji, but I guess my natural defenses won't let me. I was so caught up in my inner turmoil that I didn't notice the rock wall until I ran into it. I bounced off and fell back on my butt. "Ouch, who put that there?" I glared at the wall, hoping that I could make it crumble with my eyes. "Hey, are you okay?" Koji held out his hand to help me up, but I ignored it and got up on my own." Koji was obviously confused at my actions, but he let them slide as he looked from me to the rock wall. As he put two and two together, he chuckled, "You ran into the wall, didn't you?" I rolled my eyes, "I'm sorry I'm not as coordinated as the Great Koji Minamoto." My sarcasm surprised me; I hadn't used it on anyone my age since I moved to Japan. I grinned, knowing it meant that I was starting to relax around Koji. My smile surprised him, his head tilted to the side as he asked, "Are you okay? You didn't bump your head on the wall, did you?" He was obviously concerned. I laughed and waved him away, "No, I'm just fine."

We walked around the wall in silence. The only sounds were of our feet as they stepped on rocks or twigs. I decided to break the silence, "You know what I really need? A chance to prove myself as a warrior, I mean, everyone else has worked really hard to stay alive, and I feel like all I do is just sit there, doing nothing." He glanced up in shock that this was what I chose to talk about. "What are you talking about? You saved me back when you first got your spirit, while Zoe needed my help to defeat Woodmon." I shook my head, "Zoe was confused during her fight, you can't really compare it to mine." Koji took a moment to think about my words. I watched as his facial expressions went from intense concentration, to smirking because he had an amazing idea. "You know, _I_ could help you with your battle skills." I thought about it, Koji was great at battling evil digimon, and it would help me get to know him better. "Okay, you can help me. Teach me how to be useful." He grinned and got his D-Tector out.

"Execute, Spirit Evolution!" We shouted in sync. I felt my body go through the now familiar changes to become a digimon. Koji looked at me, "All right, so the first question is, what is your biggest strength? You need to know so that you can use it best to your advantage." I thought about it, "Well, I'm fast, and I can heal my allies if they are really hurt." He shook his head, "The speed is a good thing, but healing others won't get you anywhere in a battle if you are too exhausted to do anything else." I thought about this and felt the right answer coming from my gut, "My Darkness Charge attack, I can build up energy that others lend me and send it at the enemy." He gave me a blank stare. "Don't ask me where that came from, I guess that the digimon inside of me was talking." I realized that it probably _was_ the spirit talking and my eyes widened. Lobomon nodded his head as if it was perfectly normal for that to happen, "All right, I don't think that we should practice that attack, but if everyone else is tired and they don't think that working together will work, ask them to lend you their strength and you can use that to try to do some damage." I nodded in understanding, I felt the knowledge in my mind and knew that my spirit would help me when the time came for me to use that attack. "Now, let's see if we can put that claw of yours to good use." Lobomon pointed at a tree, "Hit that tree."

After hitting the tree at least fifty times, I was getting tired of this exercise. "What will this do to help me fight?" I was honestly curious. Lobomon turned his head away from the tree, "It will improve your aim, and if you think you are ready, we can move on to the next task." I nodded in agreement, ready to try anything if it meant hitting something other than a stationary object. Lobomon picked up a rock and threw it at me. I dodged out of the way, "Hey, what did you do that for?" "Learn not just to dodge, but to hit it with your claw, like hitting it with a baseball bat." I grinned, now this I could do.

Lobomon was obviously surprised when I hit the first one back and it hit him in the face. I laughed and dodged the next one he threw at me. It became just like when I played softball, except now I was just trying to hit the rock so that it hit Lobomon. After a while, Lobomon declared that we could quit, and he turned back into his human form. I followed his lead and turned back into myself. I stretched my arms out and reached down to touch my toes. I felt my muscles stretch out and sighed in happiness. "Well, that was a very good work out. Thanks for helping me, Koji." I smiled at him. "You're welcome, now all you have to do is face a real enemy, and then we can see how tough you really are." I elbowed his arm, "Come on, let's get some sleep so that we'll have enough energy to defeat the enemy." I sat down with my back to a tree. I tried to settle down so that I could rest, but the tree wasn't comfortable on my back. I sighed, only to look up and see Koji looking down at me with an amused expression. "Need some help there?" I scowled at him, "Yeah, come make yourself useful." He sat beside me and put his arm around my shoulder. I leaned my head against his shoulder and quickly fell asleep.

**A/N: So, what did you think? I am horrible at relationship stuff (or at least _I_ think I am) so tell me how I did with a review. :)**


	6. A Molehill Out of a Mountain

**A/N: Wow this was a great chapter! I bet you can't wait to read it! Thanks to Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 who reviewed chapter 5!**

**Diclaimer: Even at two a.m. in the morning when I wrote this I didn't own digimon, aka I don't own digimon.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 6<br>A Molehill Out of a Mountain**

The light on my face woke me up the next morning. Koji's head was resting on mine, and I really didn't want to wake him up, but I knew that we needed to get to the Forest Terminal, so I nudged his side with my elbow. His eyes opened in shock. When he saw that it was just me, he smirked down at me, "Good morning, was my arm comfortable?" I smiled sweetly back at him, "I don't know, but you were obviously comfortable resting your head on mine." He laughed at my comment. I got up, removing his arm from my shoulder and helped him stand up. We scanned the wall for any handholds that we could use to get up. Seeing none, we walked along the wall until we came to a break in the trees.

I looked up the cliff and realized that there was actually an entire mountain there. There didn't look like any way up, and there were more mountains surrounding us, so I doubt we could have walked around them. There were only two choices, walk along the mountain through the forest again, or try to find a way to climb the mountains. We chose the second option, or I should say that Koji chose the second option, because he started walking towards the mountains before I could say anything. When we came to the base of one of the other mountains I noticed that there were train tracks going up the side of the mountain. Koji started to climb the tracks like a ladder and I decided that I'd better hurry and catch up, or a Trailmon might come and squash us both. We finally reached about halfway up the mountain when a Trailmon did start to come. We jumped to a tiny ledge that was barely able to hold the length of our feet. I sighed, knowing that this way was going to be harder than the train tracks, but I didn't want to risk another Trailmon coming, so I followed Koji as he edged his way along the ledge.

We were about a quarter the way around the mountain, almost to the side where we would have to climb down when we heard people calling for help from a cave above us. I looked at Koji, "How are we going to rescue them?" He glanced at the smooth surface of the wall, "I'll have to climb it, and then pull you up when I get up there." I nodded and watched as he carefully but quickly climbed the wall. Once his hands were close enough, he grabbed the edge of the cave and pulled himself up. He reached his arms down so that he could pull me up after looking around to see if any enemies were in the cave. I grabbed his wrists and he grabbed mine. He started to pull me up, but I could see that he wouldn't have enough strength to do it on his own. I tried digging my feet into the cliff, but my shoes couldn't get a good enough grip, so I dug my knees into the rock and used them to push myself up. As soon as I was close enough, I brought my leg over the edge of the cave and used that to get the rest of me in the cave.

I looked around the small cave and I saw some snail-like digimon trapped in a cage with a padlock at the very back of the cave. "Hello?" Koji said, obviously doubting that these were the people calling for help. "Heroes!" "Oh, please you must help us!" "You'll scare them off, don't be so pushy!" The digimon all started talking at once. Koji tried pulling on the padlock, but it wouldn't budge. "Let's be smart about this, Koji." I said, handing him a big rock. He nodded, then started hitting the padlock with the rock, trying to break it. The snails started screaming and I looked behind us, only to be grabbed by the shoulder and tossed out of the cave as if I weighed nothing. I looked over at Koji and then looked down where I saw a pile of who knows what right below us. Well, it's better than falling to the ground.

The collision sent the pile flying in all directions and I heard someone say, "Well, we finish and the universe throws some humans into the works." The digimon dig us out and I gasp, "What was that stuff?" The snail-like digimon gave me a weird look, "It's our leftover slime from last month, we had just gathered all of it up when you two fell into the pile and scattered it." I shuddered, even if they weren't real snails, they still had slime and it was stuck all over my body. "Do you guys have a bathroom anywhere? You know, someplace I could take a bath?" They nodded and said, "Follow us." Koji raised his eyebrows at me. "What? I haven't taken a bath in a while and I really want to get this snail slime off me." "Whatever." I rolled my eyes at his response. We finally reached the bathhouse, and I noticed that it was one of the only buildings that was right side up. I decided to ask about that later and take a bath now. I walked into the lady's side and started to take my grubby clothes off. I grabbed a towel and some soap and then stepped into the warm water. I let myself soak a while before scrubbing myself clean with the soap. As soon as I felt clean, I grabbed my clothes and scrubbed them until they were all clean too.

I stepped out of the bathhouse feeling refreshed and ready to take on whoever pushed us out of that cave. I found out that Koji was in one of the sideways houses and I used a ladder to get to it. My elbows were in the doorway when I saw that the handle of a broom was pointed at me. I raised my eyebrows at Koji, who was holding the broom and he set it down. I pulled myself all the way into the room, but was careful not to land on Koji, who was standing on the wall due to the fact that the house was sideways. "So, what's the plan?" I asked, knowing that he'd have one. "Well, the KaratsukiNumemon were told by Grumblemon that he wanted this mountain's fractal code. The KaratsukiNumemon don't know where it is, and when they told him that, he kidnapped their women and threatened to hurt them if they didn't give him the fractal code. So, the KaratsukiNumemon went in search of heroes, who are going to help us defeat Grumblemon. I definitely want revenge on Grumblemon for throwing us off the mountain." I nodded, accepting his plan. "Oh, by the way, you may want to take the bristles off that broom if you want to look intimidating, because you looked just ridiculous holding that end and pointing the handle at me." He rolled his eyes but pulled the broom head off the stick.

We sat down on the wall/floor and made a battle plan for what we should do. As we were sitting, we gradually came closer together until we were right next to each other. After a while, he reached out and grabbed my hand. I blushed at his boldness, but didn't reject. "Hey Koji, I forgot to ask, why do you wear that bandana?" I asked after a long silence of just enjoying each other's presence. "Well, it was a really long time ago, and I don't remember all of the details, but according to my dad I was about to get my first haircut, because my bangs were in my eyes. I refused to get them cut, I loved my hair the way it was, and so my mom got me this bandana. It pulled the bangs out of my eyes, and made my hair look shorter than it really was. My dad was happy, and I was happy. Every time my dad would even mention a haircut, I would just pull this out to cover up how long it really was. Eventually, I did get my hair cut, but it was only a trim and I was happy that I kept my long hair. After a while I completely forgot why I wore it, and just started to leave it on my dresser, but after my dad told me that my mom had given it to me, I wore it every day and even the teachers stopped getting mad at me for wearing it, because I refused to take it off. It became my trademark." I noticed that during the parts that he had talked about his mom he held my hand tighter as if it was a life preserver, keeping him above the water.

I rested my head on his shoulder and felt him relax, "Thanks for telling me, I know that was hard for you." He smiled down at me and when I saw him leaning closer, I realized that he was going to kiss me. I tilted my face up, and right when our lips were about to meet we heard people coming up the ladder. He sighed and jumped up, getting into a defensive position in between me and the door. A KaratsukiNumemon came in the doorway and said, "You're almost there." "That's great!" I heard a voice that sounded a lot like Takuya's say. Then I heard a voice that sounded like Tommy's say, "Huh, who's that? Hey, wait!" Then goggle-head himself stuck his head through the door. "Yes, wait you guys are here too?" Koji swung the stick around so that it was pointing at Takuya. "You're the people these guys found to help out?" Koji was obviously disappointed, and frankly, I was too. Then the whole gang all had their heads in the doorway, from Neemon to J.P., who was looking like he was going to pass out on the floor from all that climbing. J.P. then exclaimed, "Jade, Koji!" "So, you guys couldn't find any food either?" Takuya was already getting on my nerves. "What are you talking about? We are here to help the KaratsukiNumemon." "Yeah, don't lump us in with you guys, these kids aren't going to be able to help you out at all." Koji said matter-of-factly to the KaratsukiNumemon. "I'll help you, right upside the head!" Takuya held up his fist like he was going to hit Koji from his spot in the doorway. "At least give us a chance!" Tommy yelled. I almost wanted to say yes, just to make the kid happy, but I didn't want him to get hurt.

"Thanks guys, but we can do this on our own." I said to them, but was looking at Takuya. "Just look at you guys, the only thing you would do is getting in our way. Can I help it if you're not up to our level?" Koji phrased that in a meaner way than I would have, but I guess that's the only way to discourage them, or make them want to help even more. "Watch it, stick boy, or I'll-" KaratsukiNumemon cut him off, "Please stop fighting, we are grateful to all of you for coming to help. Now, it's time to eat." Koji rolled his eyes when the others cheered and I sighed, this was going to be interesting. Their cheering forced them to let go of the doorway so they fell into the house, and Koji pushed me out of the way before they could flatten me against the wall/floor.

The KaratsukiNumemon brought out some food that looked like cabbages. I ignored the complaining of the others and grabbed four for me and Koji to share. I brought them over to the spot we had claimed as our corner and I sat next to him. I took a bite of a red cabbage and tasted beef ramen noodles. "Yum, Koji you have to try this!" I held out my cabbage for him to taste. He raised his eyebrows at me, but then took a bite out of the red cabbage. He nodded his head and then gave me a thumbs up before grabbing a white cabbage from his pile and taking a bite from that. I sighed; he can be so unsocial when other people are around us. We ignored everybody else, and ate our cabbage in silence, our hands brushing every once in a while when we reached for another cabbage or shifted our weight to get comfortable.

Once everybody was done eating, Koji started to explain the plan. "Grumblemon has the captives in a cave that is right about here." He pointed to a spot on a map of the mountain the KaratsukiNumemon had supplied for us. "We'll have to get in and out quickly." The KaratsukiNumemon started groaning as our plan started sounding more difficult. "Just relax, have no fear leave everything to us, legendary warriors!" The KaratsukiNumemon were just starting to relax at J.P.'s words, but when he mentioned that we were legendary warriors they all became terrified. "What's the matter?" Zoe asked. Something isn't right, they don't trust legendary warriors? I wasn't even sure if I was one, but I knew that they'd be afraid of me if I was. "You mean all of you are legendary warriors?" The leader of the KaratsukiNumemon asked. "Yeah, in the flesh!" Takuya foolishly blurted out. The KaratsukiNumemon gathered in a huddle as they decided what to do, I hope that they aren't planning on throwing us off the mountain, been there, done that. While they were busy I decided to ask Bokomon about my spirit.

"By the way, Bokomon what does your little book say about my spirit? You never told me what element I am." Bokomon took his green book out of his pink waistband and started scrolling through the pages, "Ah, here it is, DeviAngewomon is supposed to be a myth! Even more legendary than the legendary warriors! She was the one who chose the three new leaders, Seraphimon, Cherubimon, and Ophanimon. Her spirit was the one of Hope. She was known as the princess of the digital world." "Hope? How is an angel combined with a demon hopeful?" I was confused. "It is showing good and evil coming together to a more hopeful future." Bokomon said, as if it were obvious.

By now, the KaratsukiNumemon were done with their little meeting and the leader said, "Well, it's time to go to bed." "And I say, it's time to go rescue the girls!" Takuya interjected. "No, no, get some rest so that you will have a fresh start in the morning!" The KaratsukiNumemon obviously wasn't that worried about their women. "Uh, okay." Takuya just gave up like they weren't acting suspicious at all, I sighed. "Now off to bed with you!"

We were sent into the bedroom where we were forced to sleep on the wall/floor without a bed. I knew that something was up with the KaratsukiNumemon, so I lay awake, trying to hear if they were going to attack us. I heard Takuya whispering to Koji, "You know, I didn't like you at first, but seeing how you're helping the KaratsukiNumemon I guess you're alright." Koji turned the other way, towards me, "They helped us first, but don't think I'll help you." He looked startled that I was wide awake. I heard Takuya grumble and then turn over.

"Why are you still awake? You should get some rest so that we can beat Grumblemon." I was surprised that he hadn't noticed how weird the KaratsukiNumemon were acting. "Just thinking, I can't fall asleep." I lied, not wanting to make him worry. I would wake him up if the KaratsukiNumemon tried anything. "Everything is going to be okay, you are ready for this fight." He obviously thought that I was nervous that I would mess up. "I'll even let you wear this, for good luck." He took his bandana off, letting his hair fall in his face. He then tied it in my hair, folding it until it was just a strip of cloth, making it look like a headband. "Oh, Koji!" I moved across the floor until I was lying next to him, then I pulled him into a tight hug. He chuckled at my emotional reaction and pulled away, telling me to get some sleep.

I was half asleep when I heard them crawl into the room. I sat up, wanting to wake up Koji, but found out that I was their first target when I felt ropes slide around my waist. I was about to scream when a gag found its way into my mouth. I kicked Koji in the stomach, but it was too hard of a kick and left him breathless. The KaratsukiNumemon quickly tied him up and the others. They dragged us outside and attached our ropes to wooden posts sticking out the side of the mountain. They slowly hoisted the others down so that they were just dangling. I was the only one left. They took my gag out of my mouth before lowering me down to where the others were. I looked at Koji with sad eyes. I had failed, I could have saved everyone, but I had made Koji barely able to breathe, let alone yell to wake the others. He smiled at me, "Thanks for waking me up with such loving touch."

I sighed then heard Takuya yell, waking the others and making them yell too. "What's going on here?" Zoe asked. "You don't want to know!" J.P. replied. "Okay, what's going on here?" Koji asked getting right to the point. "We'll give you back to your partner in exchange for our women." The KaratsukiNumemon leader said. "You dirty sneaks, is that why you brought us here?" Takuya yelled up at them. "We are not the dirty sneaks, you are! Pretending to be helpful strangers when you are really legendary warriors!" "I don't understand, what's wrong with that?" Zoe obviously did not like the fact that she was in a skirt suspended over who knows who. "The times for your tricks and lies are over!" He replied. "We aren't lying! The only liars here are you, for pretending to need our help!" I was shaking with anger. "Don't worry; soon you'll be back with your ally." Ally, what ally, what was he talking about? Did Takuya make new friends while Koji and I were gone? "Ally? What are you talking about?" Koji, as always, asked the question that was on my mind.

"Don't play dumb, we know you're all in league with Grumblemon!" The accusation made my hands form fists, "Yeah we are really good friends with the guy who threw us off the mountain!" I wasn't sure if my sarcasm got through due to my yelling, but I was so mad that I didn't care anymore. Suddenly, some rocks blew out of the side of the mountain and a deep voice said, "Now give fractal code, or bad things be happen." Wow his grammar is horrible. "Yeah, says who?" Nice job Takuya, let's be mean to the person who could easily destroy us by cutting the ropes that were holding us. "You call me Grumblemon!" A goblin-like digimon walked out of the cave. He wore a red hat, blue armor and red pants. He had symbols all over his body and a nose that was bigger than my foot. "Hey, look at that symbol!" Zoe exclaimed. "He's also a-a legendary warrior!" Takuya was obviously shocked.

"I didn't realize that there were bad legendary warriors." Bokomon said as if this was just another interesting fact in his book. "Grumblemon, if you want to save your allies, give us back our women, now!" The KaratsukiNumemon leader threatened, and it would have been a pretty good threat, if we were allies, but we weren't. "Holding that knife a little close there!" J.P. brought our attention to what was in the KaratsukiNumemon's hand. "What, so? Me don't care what happen to weak, human things." Grumblemon replied. They brought the knives closer, but all Grumblemon did was stare in interest, obviously waiting for us to fall. "But, they're legendary warriors too!" The KaratsukiNumemon argued. "What, these weaklings be legendary warriors? Me thinks someone got their hands on some spirits and took them when they shouldn't have! Now I take them all back!" He took a hammer out of the ground and prepared to swing it at us.

"Wait, you aren't allies?" The KaratsukiNumemon asked. "Well, duh!" I exclaimed. "That's what we've been trying to tell you!" Tommy yells, exasperated. Grumblemon swings his hammer at the wall and we all bring our legs up, to avoid getting crushed. The KaratsukiNumemon crawl up the wall, dropping their knives in the process. Koji sighs and kicks off the wall, catching one of the falling knives on his ropes, freeing him. He started to fall, but yelled, "Spirit!" He got his D-Tector out and quickly yelled, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" I watched as he transformed into Lobomon. He jumped up and grabbed the rope that once bound him, swinging towards Grumblemon. On the way, he cut my restraints with his Lobo Kendo so that I was able to quickly pull my D-Tector out as I was falling. "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" I flew up to where Lobomon was battling Grumblemon, flying behind the enemy. "Heaven's Wave!" I shouted, opening my arms so the little demon angels could attack Grumblemon. He was getting hit pretty badly, so he pulled a hammer out of the ground and swung at me, hitting me in the chest. I fell back, but used my wings to keep myself in the air. Grumblemon tackled Lobomon, bringing him through the top of a building, and out the other end so that he was only staying up because his hands were holding on.

Grumblemon laughed as he came to the edge of the hole. He quickly stomped on one of Lobomon's hands with his foot and laughed as he lost his grip and was only hanging on with one hand. I flew up past Lobomon and hit Grumblemon with my claw. He fell against the wall and I yelled, "Evil Charm!" I made a cross in the air with my claw and it flew toward Grumblemon, making him immobile. I turned around and helped Lobomon up. When I turned back around I saw that a giant blue and yellow beetle digimon, who I assume is J.P. had brought Grumblemon to the top of the house, where Agunimon was about to use his Pyro Darts attack on him. "Pyro Darts!" He yelled, and threw little burst of flame at Grumblemon. "No!" I yelled as his fire dissolved my Evil Charm that was holding Grumblemon prisoner. Kazemon and a little white polar bear with green armor came flying over, but I ordered them, "Go and rescue the prisoners! Make sure that the KaratsukiNumemon are safe! "

While I was saying this, the beetle digimon used an attack called Thunder Blitz and hit Grumblemon into a wall, where he dug in. "You want to start digging, or should I?" It was definitely J.P. in there, nobody else would make a joke in the middle of a battle. "Great, now you lost him!" I was seriously starting to like Koji's point of view that we could do this without them. "You haven't lost me yet!" I heard the voice a second before I felt his hammer hit my back, sending me tumbling down the mountain. "DeviAngewomon!" I heard Lobomon yell. I couldn't have him leave the battle for me, so I yelled back, "I'm fine, just get Grumblemon!" I used my wings to make myself stop spinning, but by then I was getting really close to the ground. I tried to pull up, but I only managed to slow myself down before my body hit the ground. I turned back into my human self and looked up in time to see a mud slide coming down the mountain. I jump back and barely avoid getting hit. Next thing I know, J.P.'s digimon self is causing an even bigger one. I avoid the bigger rocks, but that doesn't stop the smaller rocks from hitting me and giving me bruises all over my body.

By the time I can see through all the mud in my eyes, Grumblemon has changed into something even more hideous, a bigger version of himself without armor. His nose was even bigger than before. He was called Gigasmon. He started to twist and knocked Lobomon, Agunimon, and the small polar bear off the ladder that they were clinging to. The polar bear yelled, "Frozen Tundra!" Then turned into a giant icicle and stuck to the mountain, giving Lobomon and Agunimon a place to hold on to.

I was starting to lose consciousness, probably thanks to the beating that I had gotten, but I did see Gigasmon stealing the mountain's fractal code that J.P. had uncovered. I fell into a giant hole that used to be the mountain, and I blacked out.

**A/N: I'm sorry if this is terrible but, please tell me if you think it is, or if you think it was great, or if you have any opinions at all for that matter. :)**


	7. The Story of the Princess

**A/N: Wow, this chapter is intense! Read to see what I mean. :) Thanks to Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 and The-Gray-Ninja for commenting on my last chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own digimon.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 7<br>The Story of the Princess**

I awoke to the sound of talking. I didn't focus on the words, but could tell by the way that their voices were raised that they were arguing. I let my body relax on the soft mattress…wait, mattress? I pushed down with my hands and felt them sink into the thick mattress. I heard someone exclaim, "She's waking up!" They obviously notice me moving my hands. I sighed and opened my eyes to see an angel staring back at me. I couldn't actually see his eyes, because they were hidden behind a mask, but his head was turned towards mine, and everyone else was staring at me, so I figured that he was too. He had six wings growing out of his back, and was holding a golden staff. I looked around the room and saw that it was filled with flying orange guinea pigs. There were also some Gatomon and female angels at the back of the room, talking amongst themselves.

"Jade, are you okay?" I looked down to see my Gatomon friend from when I first got my spirit. I started to wonder how I knew it was her, when I realized that she was the only one with a power ring on her tail. "Gatomon, where am I?" I sat up, expecting to feel sore from all my bruises, but to my surprise, I felt fine. "You are in the Patamon Village." She gestured to the flying guinea pigs. I nodded, but my mind was racing, how long had I been here? If my bruises were completely healed, then I would have had to been here for at least a week. I cringed at the thought. "Is something bothering you, princess?" The angel digimon asked. I quickly forgot the question I wanted to ask, but thought of a different one. "Who are you, and who are they?" I gestured to the female angels at the back of the room. He chuckled, "Well, I am Angemon, and well, this should be obvious for you, but they are Angewomon." I sighed, it should be obvious, considering I halfway became one each time that I digivolve. I quickly remembered my question from earlier. "When did I arrive here? What I mean to say is, how long have I been here?" "You have been here for about five hours." Gatomon replied. I gasped, five hours is not enough time for me to heal. I quickly looked over my body, not a bruise in sight. "But, how did I heal so quickly? It's impossible for all of my bruises to heal in five hours!" I was really confused. Angemon laughed, "We all brought our energy together, and used it to heal you."

I sighed, angels that heal people? Why not, I could heal people with my powers too. I gasped; I had almost forgotten the others. I touched the top of my head and sighed when I felt that Koji's bandana was still there. Gatomon gave me a weird look, "Wasn't the warrior of light wearing that the last time I saw you?" I blushed, "Yes, but he wanted me to wear it, for good luck." Gatomon's eyes widened like I had done something wrong, but didn't say anything. Angemon decided to speak up, "The warrior of light? That is not what was written." "What are you talking about?" I asked. Gatomon looked hopefully up at Angemon, and he nodded then left the building, taking with him everyone but Gatomon and a single Patamon. "This is the story of the princess, or your spirit, back before the legendary warriors defeated Lucemon." Gatomon started and I felt myself fall into a deep sleep, where I became the princess.

I was known as the princess of the digital world, the warrior of hope, and DeviAngewomon. I watched out the window of my palace as my ten warriors, the legendary warriors, practiced their battling skills in the garden. I watched as Kazemon and Ranamon, Wind and Water, circled each other in a deadly dance that would have worried me, but I knew that they were best friends, so I let it go. Grumblemon and Kumamon were throwing rocks and ice at each other, each trying to come up with new ways to block the attack. Agunimon and Mercurymon were using the steel digimon's Dark Reflection attack to try to send fire's attack at Beetlemon and Arbormon without Thunder and Wood noticing where it would come from. Last, but not least, Lobomon and Loweemon were fighting with Light's Lobo Kendo and Darkness's Shadow Lance. Their battle was pretty fierce, but they always fought their hardest, it didn't matter if they were against their own brother. I sighed, how could those two be so different? The only thing that they had in common was their loyalty to me and the other warriors.

I flew down from my balcony when the fighting was ended to congratulate them on their hard work. They bowed to me and smiled at my praise. Darkness seemed upset that he had lost the sparring match with his brother. I smiled at their sibling rivalry. "Now, who is ready for dinner?" Arbormon and Beetlemon were the first to cheer, but the rest soon followed. Loweemon was at the back of the line when they went into the palace. I walked up to him and put my hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry my friend, you are a great warrior." He nodded at me and gave me a small smile before walking inside with everyone else.

It was later that night; I was standing on my balcony looking out at the serene night sky, when I heard a knock at my chamber doors. "Who is it?" I called out, not expecting anyone this late. "Your loyal warrior of the light would like to request to spend some time with you this evening." Came Lobomon's reply. I walked to the doors and pulled them open, to reveal Lobomon's wolf-like form. "Come in, my friend, I was just looking out and thinking about how peaceful it has been since Lucemon stopped the fighting between beast and human digimon." He nodded and followed me out to my balcony. We sat there in silence, lost in our thoughts. "Princess?" He asked. I looked up into his eyes that were visible through his mask. "Princess, I wish to ask you a question." He looked slightly nervous. I was shocked, what could make my warrior of light act like this. I nodded, telling him to continue. He reached out and grabbed my hand and my claw. I was slightly taken aback at his boldness, but I kind of liked it. "Princess, I have admired you from afar for a long time. I would like to know if you would let me court you. You do not have to answer right away; you may think about it, I will give you all the time in the world." He started to turn away, but I pulled him back to me and hugged him. He pulled me close and we cherished that moment together under the moonlight.

It happened slowly, Darkness was pulling away from me. He would not look when his brother would give me flowers. He left the room when Light whispered that he loved me. I was starting to worry. I approached him when he was sitting alone in the garden one day. "Hello, my friend, why are you sitting here all alone?" He looked up at me and sighed, "Just reflecting on my life, Princess." I nodded and sat down next to him, "Yes you have accomplished quite a lot, haven't you?" He shook his head, "All but the one thing that I really wanted to." When I looked at him in confusion he sighed again, "A girl, your majesty, I have not told her how I feel and now I fear that it is too late." I smiled softly at him, "Why would you think that it was too late?" He looked hopefully up at me, "You don't think that it is too late?" I shook my head, "Unless she is married or engaged, then I do not believe that it is too late."

Later that week, I was in the garden, practicing my fighting alone. The others disapproved of my want to help them fight. I heard someone walking up the path, so I quickly sat down and pretended to admire the flowers. Loweemon emerged from the path with a handful of flowers. "Hello Darkness, who are those for, your mystery girl?" I teased him. "Actually, yes." He admitted. "Well, I'm sure she'll love the flowers that you stole from my garden." I laughed. "Gatomon and Patamon said that it was okay. They were happy to help me out." He said proudly. I understood his feelings, Gatomon was a very hard digimon to please, Patamon usually persuaded her to give in, but usually she was only pleasant around Patamon and me. "Okay, if Gatomon says that it's all right, then I guess you can give them to your mystery girl." I smiled at him.

He walked up to me and handed me the flowers. "Um, I said that you could give them to your girl, you don't have to give these back to me." I tried to hand the flowers back, but he just smiled, "They're for you. You are the mystery girl." My eyes widened in shock, "Loweemon, I really don't think-" "Hush, you told me not to give up, right?" He was on the ground next to me, with his hand on my shoulder. "Stop, you have no right to touch me, especially when your brother is courting me." I pushed his shoulder off of me and stood up. I glared at him, "Do you have no respect for me? Are you that caught up in your own feelings that you would look past my own? Do you not wee the joy that your brother puts on my face?" I knew that if I went on, he would probably leave forever, so I just turned around and left.

As I reached to door to the house, I saw Kazemon looking at me with wide eyes. I quickly walked over to her. "Do you think I did the right thing?" I knew that she would know what I was talking about because she had obviously heard us through the wind. She nodded, but her eyes were sad, "I think that you did the right thing, but I don't think that he will ever be close to you again." I sighed, knowing that she was right and that I had let my temper get the best of me. "We can figure this out; I know that everything will turn out okay."

The next morning, we got the news that Lucemon had become corrupted. We all prepared for battle, knowing that we were the only ones who could stop him. Together, we banished Lucemon to the Dark Area. My friends had lost all of their power, and were slowly changing into spirits. I could feel that I, too had lost all of my power, but I knew that one day I would come back, merging with a human, to become even more powerful. Before I faded I turned to my friends Gatomon and Patamon, "Tell Seraphimon, Ophanimon, and Cherubimon that they will protect the digital world now." They nodded. I looked at Darkness, who was the closest one to me of all my comrades. He was fading faster than the others, and I doubt that he could hear me now, but just in case he could I said, "Don't worry, we will be together again one day." I message was meant for everyone, but I couldn't see if the others noticed because I had finally faded into spirit. I felt myself go flying towards the place that I had grown up, Gatomon Village. There I slept until one day I was awoken by a girl's longing to help her friend, the spirit of light.

I opened my eyes to the concerned looks of Patamon and Gatomon. "Wow, were those her memories?" I was in shock, but then I noticed that Patamon and Gatomon were the ones from my memory. They nodded slowly. "And you guys were her friends, her best friends." They smiled, "So, did you see the ending?" I nodded, "But what does that have to do with anything?" They looked at me with shock, "Don't you see? You can no longer love the spirit of light; you made a promise to Darkness!" I jumped at their yelling. I thought about DeviAngewomon's last words to Darkness. "She wasn't just talking to Darkness, she was talking to everyone. Darkness was the only one that she could see because he was right next to her, so she spoke with her head pointing towards him." Their eyes widened in understanding, "Well, then I guess our whole prophecy was wrong." I smiled, "That's okay, now I know what it means for me to be the new princess." They smiled back at me.

I walked outside into the afternoon sun and stretched my arms. "Are you ready for your challenge now?" Angemon walked up to me and asked. "Challenge? I wasn't aware that I had to do a challenge." I looked back at Patamon and Gatomon, but they just smiled at me and waved me on. I sighed, "What do I have to do?" Angemon smiled at me and said, "All you have to do is control your beast spirit." My eyes widened, "Beast spirit? Like when Grumblemon turned into Gigasmon?" "Exactly like that, except you won't have complete control." I winced slightly, but squared my shoulders and nodded, "I'm ready." Angemon nodded his approval.

"Now, we don't want you to destroy this village, so, we are going to send you to where your friends are, and then activate the spirit in a tree close to you." I nodded, and then asked, "Wait, how can you activate the spirit?" Angemon smiled, "We have our ways."

I was teleported to the middle of a forest and I heard J.P. say, "A little bit more? These little bits are killing me!" "Guys, I'm over here!" I yelled and started to run towards them when I felt my D-Tector going off. I pulled it out of my pocket and a new spirit came out of a tree, here we go. I felt myself being taken over by the beast. I felt my hair lengthen and watched as it turned blonde and fell down to my waist. I had a small white mask that only barely covered the area around my eyes. Whiskers grew out my cheeks and my teeth lengthened into fangs that were always slightly visible on my bottom lip. My ears extended to white cat ears with purple tips. I grew a tail, that was white and purple striped with a power ring on it. On my hands were yellow and orange gloves with three sharp claws at the end. I had on a tight purple sleeveless dress that came down to mid-thigh. A white belt hung around my waist with an equally white whip attached to it. Purple high-heeled boots that came up to my knees were on my feet. My transformation was complete, "Gatowomon!" I felt the beast take over my thinking.

I heard multiple pairs of feet running toward me. Seven pairs of feet were running, the owners of the feet were calling out something, "Jade, I know you're out there, come out!" I vaguely recognized the name, but I shook it out of my head. I jumped into the closest tree and watched as five humans and two small digimon came into my territory. They looked around in confusion. "I was sure that her voice came from over here." The human with black hair tied back in a ponytail said. Do I know you? I thought to myself, he looks so familiar. "Look at that huge cat!" I was spotted by the human in a blue jumpsuit. "That's no cat; it looks like a giant Gatomon!" Ponytail boy said. Everyone looked at him in confusion, "When Jade first digivolved, we were in a Gatomon Village." He explained. I was getting bored of their talking, time to attack, while they were occupied. I jumped down from the tree and landed on my feet, naturally. They took the time to look me up and down, "Hey guys, what if this is another evil digimon?" A boy with goggles on said. I smiled at them, making sure to let them see my fangs, "Uh, guys I don't like the way she's looking at us." The little boy in the big orange hat said. "Everyone, get your D-Tector out!" It seems that goggle-head is the leader of this little group.

Suddenly, they all yelled, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" They all transformed into digimon. Why does that seem so familiar? I stepped back, confused with the thoughts in my head. "I don't think she wants to hurt us." The one called Agunimon said. I hissed at him and pulled out my whip, "Lightning Whip!" I wrapped it around him and used it to throw him at Beetlemon. I laughed at their collision, "Hey, that's not nice. Hurricane Wave!" The digimon named Kazemon yelled. Small twisters formed from her fingers and she threw them at me. I jumped behind Kumamon and the winds hit him, throwing him back into a tree. I grinned, they were beating themselves.

"She's just using your attacks against you! Let me try to battle her on my own." Lobomon said. Everyone gave him confused looks, "You don't have to do this by yourself, we can help you!" Kazemon said. Lobomon laughed, "And get beaten again? I don't think so." Everyone stood aside, obviously wanting to see him get beaten. I laughed; he thought that he could beat me by himself? Fine by me, I hadn't seen his attacks yet, and I was curious. "All right, you think you're so tough? I bet you couldn't even beat Bokomon over there!" I taunted him. He pulled out his swords, "Lobo Kendo!" He charged at me, but I jumped over him at the last second, so he hit a tree and got his sword stuck in it. I turned back around, "Cat Claw!" I yelled. My claws lengthened and I used them to slash his unprotected back. He yelled out in pain and I smirked, "You can do this yourself? I highly doubt that." He turned around to face me, "Howling Laser!" I quickly jumped to the right, so that I was standing right in front of his friends. He fired his laser, and I ducked at the last minute, causing him to hit his friends.

They all groaned in pain and Kumamon turned back into a human, because he was hit straight on. "You really need to perfect your aim." I was really enjoying this. Should I be enjoying this? A small part of my mind asked. What did they ever do to you to deserve your attacks? As I was having this internal conversation, I heard Agunimon say, "Quick, while she's distracted!" I heard Lobomon's laser firing up, "Howling Laser!" I did a back flip and l and landed behind him, "This is how you shoot a laser, Midnight Eyes!" He turned around just as my eyes turned yellow and a beam of light shot out of them. He fell to the ground and turned back into a human. "Koji!" The others yelled.

Koji? I looked down at the human at my feet. I blinked; my warrior of light was defeated, by me? No, it couldn't be! I backed up from the human that I considered to be my best friend. I had caused so much pain, to Koji! I looked down at my claws, the things that I had used to hurt him. I remembered when Koji had helped me learn to fight as DeviAngewomon. He taught me how to use my claw to block rocks. I couldn't take it, I ran into the forest. The others ran after me. Kazemon flew ahead of me, "Rapid Kick!" She kicked me so that my back was up against a tree. She continued to kick me, but I couldn't make myself block it. I slid down the tree and curled up into a ball, crying at how horrible I was. Kazemon stopped kicking me, but I didn't look up. I was numb, I couldn't feel pain anymore. I knew that I was a horrible person, and that they would never forgive me.

I stood up, jumping over their group and punched a tree that was behind them. I knew that once I went through so much pain I would turn back into a human, so I kept punching the tree. Suddenly, the tree fell down. Great, I even kill trees. I looked at Agunimon, "Just kill me, put me out of my misery. Don't let me hurt anyone else." He gave me a confused look, "What are you talking about?" I looked to Beetlemon, "Hit me with your Thunder Fist, as hard as you can!" He backed up, "How did you know that I could use Thunder Fist? I never used it on you." I sighed; these people weren't getting the message. I did the one thing I knew would make Kazemon attack me, "Hey Kazemon, your purple hair is so ugly, it looks like you don't try at all." She gasped and yelled, "Tempest Twist!" She did a hand stand and started to kick me rapidly while spinning. Finally, I felt my digital body give in and I turned back into myself, only to get kicked a few more times by Kazemon, because she didn't know that she needed to stop. I fell back against the stump I had made and sighed, this was going to be interesting.

"Jade?"Beetlemon and Agunimon gasped in surprise. Kazemon stopped twisting, "Jade? Why would you do that to us? You even attacked Koji!" She turned back into a human and slapped my face. The boys were too stunned to do anything about it. Koji! I needed to get back to Koji! I pushed past Zoe and ran to the clearing where he was sitting up against a tree next to Tommy, apologizing for hitting him. He looked up, "Jade! What happened to you? Is this from the battle with Grumblemon?" He rushed towards me and grabbed my shoulders. I shook my head and then burst into tears. How could I hurt him? He was too good for me. I should just leave right now so that I would never hurt him again. "Jade, are you okay? I'll kill whoever did this to you!" His eyes were full of fury. "No!" I yelled and pushed him away, "You don't understand, you can't hurt them, I already hurt them enough!" I ran into the forest, and stopped when I got to a huge apple tree. "I already hurt you enough." I mumbled to myself. I sat down with my back to the tree. "I will never turn into my beast again." I curled up into a ball and put my head on my arms.

That is how they found me hours later; they were looking for the apple tree so that they could eat dinner. Zoe, Tommy, Bokomon and Neemon stopped as soon as they saw me. Zoe glared at me and Tommy wouldn't even look at me. I could tell that Zoe had told him what happened. I sighed, "Okay, I'll just leave then." Tommy looked like he was going to burst into tears, and Zoe just stuck her nose up at me. Then I remembered that I still had Koji's bandana on my head. I brought my hands up and untied it. I walked over to Tommy, "Hey, do you think that you could give this to Koji for me? Tell him that I'm sorry." I said it in a gentle voice. He nodded and stuffed the bandana in his pocket. "You could come back with us, I'm sure that he wants to see you." He looked up at me with half hopeful, half fearful eyes. I had scared Tommy. I felt tears roll down my cheeks. "That's okay, I'll be fine on my own for a while."

I walked away from them, into the woods. I walked for a while, then circled back and followed them back to camp, I wanted to make sure that everyone was okay.

**A/N: Do you love it or hate it? Or is it somewhere in the middle? Tell me what you think.**


	8. Welcome to My Nightmare

**A/N: Ready for the new chapter? I bet you are! Thanks to Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 for reviewing my last chapter. :)**

**Disclaimer: Did Zoe and Takuya ever just randomly kiss each other? If not, then I don't own digimon.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 8<br>Welcome to My Nightmare**

Zoe, Tommy, Bokomon, and Neemon all had their arms full of apples and they walked back down a path to where Koji and Takuya were trying to light a fire. J.P. was sitting under a tree, obviously tired from having to carry wood back to the camp site. Takuya was rolling a stick in between his hands, on top of a flat piece of wood. Finally, he got smoke to start coming off of the flat piece of wood, "Am I done yet?" He asked, tired from rolling the stick in between his hands. "Yes, I'll take it from here." Koji replied. He blew on the smoke until a small fire started. He then placed a small twig, which he had used the flat piece to catch on fire, onto a pile of wood shaped like a teepee. The fire started to get going. "I have a question; all five of us kids now have the spirits of legendary warriors, so how come even when we combined our forces we still couldn't beat stupid Grumblemon?" I noticed that Takuya didn't mention me; I took that to mean that I was no longer apart of the team and sighed. I looked up at a tree across the clearing and saw eyes staring out from its branches. I was going to leave, but I didn't want to leave them alone with an unknown enemy.

"The fire's ready, bring your apples." I shook my head, trying to focus so that I could warn them if the enemy started to attack. Tommy stopped and looked into the trees; does he see the enemy too? I couldn't ask him without revealing myself, so I just watched as he ran back towards the others. "Hey Bokomon, is there anything in your book about a beast spirit?" Takuya asked. "I haven't seen anything about a beast spirit." Bokomon replied. "If it's not too much trouble, could you look again?" To nobody's surprise, Bokomon agreed and took his book out of his pink band. Wow, he loves to get his book out, doesn't he? "I don't see anything, I'm sorry Takuya." Bokomon started to close the book, but Neemon slid his hand between the pages. "Get your paws off my book!" Bokomon yelled. "But I think I found something! This page seems to be folded over, maybe there's other stuff inside." My jaw dropped when he pulled out a folded over piece of a page, I will never underestimate him again. I listened to what Bokomon was saying, "It seems there are two spirits for each of the legendary warriors. The first is the human spirit, like Agunimon, and the second is the beast spirit. That explains where Gigasmon comes from, but how did he summon the beast spirit."

I stopped paying attention, because I knew all of this already, thanks to Angemon. I saw the shadow with the glowing eyes dart into a tree that was just above me. I narrowed my eyes and started to climb it. I was just about to grab the pig-looking digimon, when he darted to a tree on the other side of the clearing. My reach took me a little too far, and I fell from the tree and into the clearing. Everyone jumped up and grabbed their D-Tectors. When they saw that it was me Zoe exploded, "What are _you_ doing here? Didn't I tell you to leave? Haven't you caused enough trouble for us? You should just go home where you belong!" I got really mad, "I don't have a home! Now get off my back Zoe, you don't know me, and you probably never will with that attitude! You didn't even give me a chance to explain before! I guess you don't know that beast spirits are hard to control, especially when the beast takes over your mind, and you can't even recognize your own name, let alone your friends!" I turned around, "I'm not coming back, so you might as well get used to the fact that you are a team of five, Takuya already has."

I ran into the forest, not stopping for anything. Why did I care that an enemy was following them? They never cared about me. Sure, I had hurt them, but they didn't give me a chance to explain anything. I was useless to them, like unclaimed baggage at an airport. Fine, I didn't want to be a part of their team anyway, I would just take care of myself and not worry about how they were doing. The forest became dark, and I turned around to see that the trees all had TV screens on them. I looked into one and I saw my only friends from the USA. They were all talking and laughing like we used to do. They were in Maddie's room, eating pizza and watching a movie. There was a picture of all of us in front of our school on her dresser. I felt tears stream down my face, "I miss you guys." Maddie turned toward the picture and said, "I miss Jade." Everyone else also turned toward the picture and said similar things. I smiled, "I miss you too, guys." Suddenly, the image got really blurry and the light from the three moons shone down on the forest as the image disappeared completely. I wiped the tears from my eyes and sat by the tree. I heard someone whisper, "Nightmare Syndrome." I turned around, "That's weird, there's nobody there, oh well, I'm going to get some sleep." Great, now I'm talking to myself. I felt my eyelids drop.

"Jade, why do you always have to leave us all alone and never tell us anything?" It was Koji's voice. "Yeah, it's like we tell you everything and you're just gathering information to use against us." Takuya, when did you get that mean? "I bet you have no friends because you're so stuck up." J.P. thinks that I'm stuck up? "I told you everything that made my past horrible, and you just said a sad little story about how you get to see the world while the rest of us are stuck in one place for our whole life." Does Koji hate me too? "You're an even bigger crybaby than me!" Tommy, don't go. "Why did I invite you back to camp with us, all you do is hurt people, with your actions and your words!" Tommy was yelling at me now. "I didn't mean to!" I yelled back. "Aw, is the little baby going to cry? You're weak, I don't know why I ever thought that you could fight with me." How could Koji say that? I wasn't just some weak person that he could push around!

I walked back to their camp. They were all asleep except J.P. and Takuya. I walked into the camp. "I am not weak. I am not weak. I am not weak." I repeated the same phrase over and over again. "Jade? Who said that you were weak?" Takuya and J.P. came closer to me with their arms up in surrender. Everyone else woke up, but Tommy was saying something similar to me, except it went like this, "I will not forgive. I will not forgive." Zoe sneered at me, "What happened to not coming back?" I got my D-Tector out, "I am not weak! Execute, Spirit Evolution!" I felt myself become DeviAngewomon and stretched my wings out. I walked toward Zoe, and once I got close enough, I swung at her with my claw.

"Tommy!" I heard J.P. yell. Tommy had turned into Kumamon and was fighting the others, obviously as mad at them as I was. They were paying more attention to Kumamon than they were to me. "You don't even care enough to receive my revenge? Fine, Heaven's Wave!" My dark angels followed them around. They pulled Zoe's hair and took Takuya's goggles. "What has gotten into you?" I turned around to see Koji looking at me with a confused expression. I looked at his hair and noticed that he had put his bandana back on. "We're your friends! Okay, maybe they aren't but I always have been. You were never weak to me, I was surprised when you asked me for help with your training, you're so strong, why would you want me to help you?"

I felt myself relax at his words, "You think I'm strong?" He nodded and I blinked away the last of my rage. "Crystal Freeze!" Kumamon's attack was headed straight for Koji, and he didn't notice. I pushed him out of the way, only to feel my wings freeze up. I cried out in pain. "DeviAngewomon!" I turned back into my normal self and held my arms, "Koji, I'm cold." He nodded, "I bet you are, here take my jacket." I smiled at him, "Thanks." I put his jacket on then looked around, "Hey, what's going on? Why is Kumamon attacking Takuya and J.P.?" Koji gave me a surprised look, "You mean you don't remember?" I shook my head. "The last thing I remember was walking into the forest, and seeing my friends on a TV in a tree. I know that sounds weird, but it really happened." He nodded and told me to hide from Kumamon.

"Guys, Kumamon doesn't know what he's doing!" Koji ran over to where the others were. "Well, then we should spirit evolve and take him out, it's the only option!" J.P. obviously wasn't thinking this through. "You can't, you could hurt Tommy!" I yelled from behind my tree. Koji shook his head at me, telling me not to get involved. "What would you know about not hurting your friends?" Zoe yelled at me. Kumamon attacked while she was busy yelling at me. Takuya pushed her out of the way, and they rolled down the hill together. "Aw, why can't I fall with Zoe?" J.P. complained. "All right, we can't spirit evolve at the risk of hurting Tommy, so what can we do?" "Crystal Freeze!" The attack split the group up so that Takuya and Koji were on one side of Kumamon, and Zoe and J.P. were on the other.

I saw the shadowy figure from earlier, and so did Takuya and Koji. "Alright, I know I saw something that time." Takuya said. "Right." Koji said as he took his D-Tector out. "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" He turned into Lobomon. "I thought we all agreed not to spirit evolve! Who does Koji think he is?" J.P. was getting pretty upset. "Koji must have a good reason, maybe he knows something that we don't." Zoe, you are so understanding, not. I rolled my eyes at her. "Ancient Spirit of Light!" Koji yelled. A bright light filled the sky, allowing me to see the enemy. "There he is." Takuya got his D-Tector out. "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" He turned into Agunimon. Agunimon chased after the pig through the bushes. Suddenly, Agunimon was riding the pig back through the bushes; my D-Tector told me that the digimon's name was Bakumon. I watched as Agunimon chased Bakumon around, through the trees, and back to the clearing again.

Bakumon attacked Agunimon with his "Nightmare Syndrome" attack. "That's it! That's what controls people, Nightmare Syndrome. You feel like you're in a nightmare and the whole world is against you!" I yelled to Lobomon. "Tommy, stop!" Lobomon yelled. "My name is Kumamon, and you are nothing but a big bully!" I saw Agunimon break out of his Nightmare Syndrome. "Kumamon, you're under the spell of Bakumon's Nightmare Syndrome, it isn't real, you have to fight it!" Agunimon started to call upon his flames, "It's time to end this nightmare!" He shot flames at Bakumon and he fell to the ground, with his fractal code showing. "Fractal code, digitize!" As soon as Bakumon was back to normal, Tommy changed back into himself. "Lobomon, wow have you been fighting somebody?" Lobomon sighed in relief, "Glad to have you back, Tommy." Zoe ran up to him, "Tommy, don't you remember? You were having a nightmare!" I walked away, not wanting to listen anymore to their sappy, emotional reunion with the real Tommy.

I looked through the trees to the path, and found that I was walking parallel with the others. When everyone else went to bed, I went around the clearing and climbed up into a tree, to see that Koji was only a few feet away, watching everyone else. "Now that is the way to sleep." He smiled at their sleeping forms. Suddenly, his D-Tector started beeping, "Your beast spirit awaits, Koji Minamoto, but first you have some growing to do." Bokomon and Neemon sat up, both hearing this message and wanting to see what Koji would do. Koji looked at Bokomon, "Do you have a pencil and a piece of paper?" Bokomon nodded and handed him both. Koji wrote a note saying that he was going on alone so that he could actually get something done. He folded the paper, and then put a rock on top of it, leaving it where he was sitting before. He started to walk into the forest, but stopped when he got to the tree I was in, "Are you coming?" He raised his eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes, but nodded and climbed down the tree. We walked into the forest and didn't once look back.

**A/N: What did you think? I was just going to have Jade come and save the day, but I decided that she probably wouldn't help after her little temper tantrum. :) Please review.**


	9. Can't Keep a Grumblemon Down

**A/N: Chapter 9! Read it to find out what happens! Thanks to Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 for reviewing my last chapter! :)**

**Disclaimer: Me no own digimon.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 9<br>Can't Keep a Grumblemon Down**

We walked in silence through the forest. I was afraid to ask, but I had to know, "Koji, why do you still want me around? It's not that I don't want to be around you, but I attacked you, twice in one day." He raised his eyebrows at me, "Didn't you say that you couldn't control the beast spirit? That you couldn't even remember your own name?" I looked at him in surprise, "You remember me saying that?" I remember my shouts at Zoe last night. I could tell that she wasn't processing what I was saying, only that I was yelling. I shook my head; she only caught the last part about me never coming back. "Of course I remember, you were telling us important information. I bet that I won't be able to control my beast spirit any more than you could." I pictured Lobomon going evil and attacking me and shuddered. "Well, at least we won't have to worry about my beast spirit anymore, because I'm never changing into it again." Koji looked up at me in shock, "Why? You're more powerful in your beast spirit, you might even be able to beat Grumblemon." I stopped at a pool of water in front of us to get a drink. After I had gotten my fill, I heard talking coming from behind us. I spoke without turning around, "I know that you're there, so you might as well head back to the others." Koji glanced up in confusion, and then looked behind us to see Bokomon and Neemon on the hill above us. "Stop following me!" He ran into the tall grass next to the pond. "Quickly now, follow him!" I heard Bokomon say as I followed Koji. I saw him stopped ahead of me, so I came up beside him, only to see that we were at the edge of a cliff.

I heard Bokomon and Neemon coming up behind us, and they jumped on Koji's shoulders, causing him to lose his balance. He grabbed my arm to try to steady himself, but only brought me down with him. We fell down to a grassy hill, where we started to roll. Koji was still holding my arm, and it was really starting to hurt. Suddenly, giant rock was in front of us, and we rolled over the top of it, into the air. Only to land on a rock that was shaped like a person. Koji stared at it, and it stared back, they jumped apart, and Koji finally let go of my arm. I sighed in relief, but when I looked down I saw bruises in the shapes of his fingers. "Ouch." I frowned. "What is that?" Neemon asked, pointing to the living rock. "That is a Gotsumon, they can be real troublemakers, let me tell you." Bokomon explained. "What do you want?" Koji asked it. "Nothing, so what do you guys want?" "Nothing, why do you care?" I sighed, this was getting us nowhere. "Do you think that you could tell us how to get to the Forest Terminal?" I smiled sweetly at him. "Yeah, I could tell you, but I'm not going to." He laughed and started running away. "You're just a little brat! I was trying to be nice to you!" I yelled as I chased after him. "Follow them, come on, chop, chop." Bokomon really loved ordering Koji around. "Don't tell me what to do." Koji said as he followed us.

We followed him through the tall grass, pushing the long strands out of our way. Gotsumon climbed on top of a rock, and then disappeared. "Really, are you going to play hide-and-seek now?" I was sick of his childish behavior. "Look kid, we aren't going anywhere, so you might as well come out." Koji said in no particular direction. "Alright, but I'm still not going to tell you anything." He appeared on the rock, right where I had last seen him. There was an explosion, and a tall hill exploded, making dozens of Gotsumon scatter. "Slide Evolution, Grumblemon!" I heard coming from out of the dust. "It's Grumblemon!" Way to state the obvious, Koji. Gotsumon jumped off the rock and started running towards Grumblemon. "What are you doing?" I asked. "He can't get away with this!" Gotsumon replied. "Leave this to us, you can't fight that guy!" Koji got his D-Tector out, and I did the same. "To you?" Gotsumon was obviously confused how a couple of humans could help. "Yeah, just watch this! Execute, Spirit Evolution!" Koji turned into Lobomon. He looked down at me, "It's okay Jade, just use your human spirit for now." I sighed in relief before yelling, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" I felt myself change. "DeviAngewomon!" I flew beside Lobomon, focused on where I could hear Grumblemon laughing.

"You, I have been looking for you!" Grumblemon said. "So what?" Lobomon asked. "You get away once before, if I defeat and get spirit, Cherubimon be much grateful to Grumblemon. Slide Evolution!" He turned into Gigasmon, and then jumped into the air, bringing his fists down on Lobomon and me. I was still slightly awake; I noticed that Gigasmon had made a canyon out of this valley. Lobomon was on the ground next to me, unconscious. I tried to shake him awake, but it was no use. I felt my power draining, and I turned back into myself. I passed out, my head falling onto his chest. When I woke up, I was in a building made completely of rock. I Koji was sitting at a table across the room, and there were Gotsumon everywhere. "Look kid, you just don't stand a chance." Koji was obviously continuing their conversation. "Maybe I don't, but at least I know that I can't do any worse than you. I know that for sure, some legendary warrior you turned out to be!" The Gotsumon left, off to face Grumblemon alone.

I stopped paying attention to the conversation, focusing instead on trying to stand up. Once I had accomplished that, I stumbled over to sit next to Koji. He looked up in surprise, "You should be resting." I squared my shoulders, "I'm fine, what I really need to do is help you find your beast spirit." He nodded, "We are going to some ruins, there is supposed to be an inscription that talks about a spirit." I smiled and stood up, once my legs were steady, I walked out the door. "Are you guys coming?" I turned around to see them still sitting in the same position as before. Koji was the first to get up and follow me. "So, where are these ruins?" I asked him. He pointed toward the top of a hill. I nodded and started walking, with Koji right beside me.

I looked at the three giant heads, two of them had jewels in their eyes, but the third one didn't. Maybe that has something to do with it. "Where is the inscription that the Gotsumon mentioned? But, that's the same mark as Lobomon's, maybe that means that Koji's beast spirit is here somewhere." Bokomon examined the side of the third head. Koji got his D-Tector out, pressing the buttons to see if it could sense the spirit. I got my D-Tector out; it wouldn't hurt if both of us were searching at the same time. We sat there for twenty minutes, walking around and trying to find the spirit with our D-Tectors. Suddenly, there was an explosion from the fields of long grass. "Not Grumblemon again!" I started running towards the field. "Maybe he's fighting Takuya and the others." Bokomon said. "Come on." I heard Koji say. "But what about the beast spirit?" Bokomon yelled after us. "We'll come back for it later." Koji yelled back.

I pulled my D-Tector out when we got close to the field, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" I turned into DeviAngewomon, and saw that Koji had transformed at the same time as me. "More tasty spirits for me!" Grumblemon was saying. As far as I could tell, he had already taken Zoe's spirit, and he was about to take J.P.'s and Takuya's. "Why don't you taste this first? Howling Laser!" Wow, Lobomon's sayings sure were cheesy. His lasers hit Grumblemon directly, and he held Grumblemon up by his shirt, "How did you like that?" Grumblemon just laughed. "What's the matter? Don't want my spirit anymore?" Lobomon was really enjoying this. "Still got double tricks up my sleeve!" Grumblemon pulled two hammers out of nowhere and tried to bring them together on Lobomon's head. He leaned back just in time, "Here's some magic for you!" He kicked Grumblemon away from him.

I came up behind Grumblemon, "Heaven's Wave!" I opened my arms, and Dark angels came out, attacking Grumblemon. They were doing pretty good damage, "This is getting annoying, Slide Evolution!" He turned into Gigasmon, "Quagmire Twister!" He hit my angels away and hit me back to land beside Tommy in the grass. He then chased after Lobomon, who was running for the ruins, taunting Gigasmon along the way. I turned back into my normal self, "Ouch." I rubbed my back where I had landed on my wings. "He's gone now, are you okay?" J.P. was talking to Zoe. "I guess so; it's just, what good am I to you guys now that I don't have my spirit?"

I turned towards her, man I really hate that I'm a nice person. "It's okay, we'll get it back. You'll be back kicking butt in no time." I smiled at her, but she just glared at me. I rubbed the back of my neck, "I get it, no being nice." I gave her a thumbs up to show that I understood. Suddenly, everyone was looking at me, specifically at my hair. "What?" I asked, and then put my hand on my head only to feel that there was a crown there. "Wow, when did that get there?" Zoe's mouth dropped open, "How can you not notice a solid gold crown sitting on your head?" I blinked, solid gold? I took it off my head and saw that she was right. It was a thin crown, more of a tiara, really. There were flower patterns on it, with emeralds at the centers of them. I placed the tiara back on my head; it felt nice there, like it belonged. Wow, I was really starting to sound like a princess.

"Why did a crown appear on your head?" Zoe glared at me as if I could make one appear on hers too. I looked at her, "Actually, it's a tiara, and it's there because I guess I'm finally acting like the princess that I should be." She stared at me, "What do you mean, you should be a princess?" I blinked at her, "Don't you remember when Bokomon told me that I was the warrior of hope, aka the princess of the digital world?" She gave me a blank stare, "No." I sighed. "I remember, but I didn't know that he meant a real princess." Tommy stared at me with awe. I smiled down at him, "Yeah, and the ten legendary warriors were her closest friends. They were sworn to protect her along with the entire digital world." Takuya looked up at me, "Does that mean that you're going to try to take my spot as leader?" I laughed, "No, I like everything just the way it is."

I stood up, "Come on!" They gave me blank stares and Takuya muttered, "What happened to not taking my spot as leader." I sighed, "We have to go help Koji!" Everyone stood up and started running, except for Zoe. I looked down at her questioningly. "What can I do to help? I don't even have my spirit." I sighed and grabbed her hand, pulling her up. I started to run, and she was dragged along behind me. She didn't complain, just started running so that she wouldn't trip. "Koji!" I heard everyone yell as they got to the edge of the forest. We caught up to them and watched as a spirit started coming from the ground. It was in the shape of a howling wolf. "Koji's beast spirit." I whispered. "Beast Spirit!" Koji yelled.

The spirit flew towards Koji, into his D-Tector. Around his hand, multiple rings of blue light circled it. "Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution!" Koji transformed. He turned into a mechanical wolf that had gold, blue, and white armor. He had golden wings on his back and wheels on the back of his feet. He was, "KendoGarurumon!" "I could have done that!" J.P. said. "Stay there, nice doggy, sit!" Gigasmon tried to order KendoGarurumon. KendoGarurumon brought his wings out and put his wheels on the ground. The wheels started turning, and he rolled along the ground, right into a tree. "He can't control it!" I was panicking. "Look like things not so bad for me after all!" Gigasmon was smug. He started running towards KendoGarurumon. When KendoGarurumon saw this, he started running towards Gigasmon. "We're leaving!" Bokomon said. He started running towards us, and away from the inevitable collision.

The ruins crumbled, into the ocean below. I ran forward, "Koji!" I saw KendoGarurumon put his front leg over the side of the cliff, and then turned back into Koji. "That spirit sure takes a lot out of a guy." He fell back, no longer able to hold on. "No!" I ran even faster, but Gotsumon had already reached out and grabbed Koji's hand. As soon as Koji was back on land, I fell to my knees beside him and pulled him in for a hug. "Ouch." He complained. "Sorry!" I pulled back, afraid to hurt him. He smiled and grabbed my hand, "Well, you were right." I looked into his eyes, "About what?" He grinned at me, "Those beast spirits are hard to control." I stood up, pulling him to his feet, "Come on, we have to get to the Forest Terminal." He smirked at me, "As you wish, Princess." I rolled my eyes at him but started walking towards the others, dragging him with me.

**A/N: Rika's Voice: "Looks like Koji's attitude is getting better, will it last? Find out next time on The Warrior of Hope!"**

**Haha, sorry I just really wanted to do that. Review, please!**


	10. A Hunka Hunka BurningGreymon

**A/N: Yay! This was an extremely long chapter! I am glad to be done with it. Thanks to Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 for reviewing my last chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own digimon.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 10<br>A Hunka Hunka BurningGreymon**

Zoe immediately noticed that I was holding Koji's hand. "Hey Koji, how are you feeling? You really freaked _Jade_, I mean us, out when you almost fell into the ocean. _She,_ I mean we almost started crying." I glared at her. "Are you saying that you weren't worried about him? Or maybe you just don't care about him. With your heart of stone, your spirit should be Grumblemon." She scoffed at me, then threw her hair over her shoulder and started to walk into the forest. J.P., Tommy, and Takuya glared at me, "Why do you have to be so mean to her? She just lost her spirit for heaven's sake!" J.P. yelled at me. I narrowed my eyes at him, but before I could say something else to make him mad, Koji squeezed my hand and raised his eyebrows at me. I sighed and glared at the ground.

We caught up to Zoe pretty easily, she walks really slowly. She completely ignored me, but came over to Koji. "I am so glad that you're okay." I tensed as she put her arms around him and hugged him. Um, hello! My hand is still attached to his, and you're going to hug him? My free hand made a fist, and I squeezed Koji's hand tighter. Why couldn't I have just attacked her when I became my beast spirit? Recognize everyone but her. Wouldn't that have been nice, then she would probably hate me even more. Everyone else was staring, waiting for me to attack her. I didn't give them the satisfaction. I put a blank expression on my face, and waited until she _finally_ pulled away. She smirked at me and walked over to the other side of the group to sit down. Koji looked at me with worried eyes. I just shrugged and sat down, bringing him with me. We leaned against a tree, and he put his arm around my shoulders when I put my head on his shoulder.

"Well, isn't this peaceful?" Bokomon interrupted the silence. I sighed, "Not anymore." Zoe glared at me, but didn't say anything. "Man, I really messed up. If I hadn't been so weak, Zoe would still have her spirit." Zoe smiled at him, "It's okay Tommy, what happened wasn't your fault." "Well, the next time I see that guy I'll get your spirit back, even if I have to do it myself!" J.P. said, trying to be a hero. "That would be a really stupid thing to do. Even when all of our human spirits worked together we couldn't beat Grumblemon, what makes you think that you could do it by yourself? That would be suicide." I spoke in a serene voice, not wanting to pick any fights. "Well, it's better than sitting here doing nothing. She needs my help!" "You have a one track mind, buddy. We can't just run out and fight, we have to get to the Forest Terminal." Takuya said, and I agreed, we can't start a wild goose chase to get Zoe's spirit back. "So what, we're just letting him win? I can't just sit back and let Grumblemon run around with Zoe's spirit." He will never give up, will he? "It's okay, J.P.." Zoe looked down at her D-Tector sadly. "No, it's not okay, Zoe. The spirit of wind is yours, and you were destined to find it. So we're going to get it back for you." Give it a rest, J.P.! "Nice sentiment, but we have more important things to do than fight a battle we can't win."

J.P. exploded, "What is your problem, Koji? If your spirit was taken you would be going crazy. But hey, I understand if you're afraid, I mean, even the Great Koji can't stand up to Grumblemon." Koji stood up, "What?" "Who cares if you have your beast spirit, you can't even control it!" J.P. and Koji both had their hands clenched into fists. "That's enough! If all we ever do is fight, then we won't get anything done." I put my hand on Koji's shoulder and Tommy and Takuya stepped in between them. "I guess I'm the only one who wants to help Zoe." Zoe stepped up to him, "Guys, let's just forget it and go to the Forest Terminal." "Don't you start talking crazy too." J.P. crossed his arms.

"Alright, I've heard enough! I think it's time to do something more productive than arguing. My friends I believe the time has finally come." Bokomon said. "What are you talking about?" I asked him. "Time to show you the path of wisdom." I raised my eyebrows at him. "The path of wisdom isn't easily walked, you must think about every choice, consider every option, and know where each step will lead." Bokomon then fell down because he stepped in a mud puddle. "It seems that wisdom has landed in a mud puddle." I burst out laughing; this guy was going to show us the path of wisdom? "Young lady! That is no way to speak to me! As the princess you should learn to respect all digimon!" I glared at him, sure, pull the princess card. "Alright, then what does your wise mind suggest that we do?" "Fortune telling." I raised my eyebrows, but didn't comment. Everyone else said, "Fortune telling?" "Shamanmon is the wisest digimon of them all."

We walked through the forest until we came to a place called Fortune Teller Village. All around us, people were trying to get us to do weird things that were supposed to tell our fortune. "Princess, what are you doing here?" I looked down to see Gatomon staring up at me. She jumped on my shoulder. "Hey Gatomon, what's up?" She was examining my tiara. "I see that you've proven yourself to be a true princess, congratulations on controlling your beast spirit." I looked into her blue eyes, "What are you talking about, controlling my beast spirit?" "You become a true princess when you control the beast within. As soon as this tiara appeared on your head it proved that you would be able to control it. Wait, have you not transformed into your beast spirit a second time?" I shook my head. "Well, you can control it, but I'm not sure how well you will fight, considering your lack of experience." She sighed and jumped back on the ground. "I'll see you around Princess Jade, until then." She curtsied to me and then walked away. I lost her in the crowd. "What was that about?" Takuya was giving me a weird look. I looked away, "Nothing, just an old friend stopping by for a visit." He raised his eyebrows, "But she called you Princess, and then curtsied to you. Old friends don't do that." I smirked at him, "I didn't know that you were the princess of the digital world, Takuya. I mean, how else would you know how old friends treat a princess?"

Takuya rolled his eyes at me then started walking, trying to catch up to the others. I followed him, careful not to let any of the vendors catch me looking at them. We got to the back of the village where there was a temple. We walked up the long steps, and finally reached the temple doors. Bokomon opened them. There was a figure at the back of the room. "Shamanmon, I call upon your wisdom, your insight, and basically, whatever two cents can get us." Bokomon said. "Who calls upon Shamanmon?" The figure asked. "Weary travelers, in need of guidance from the universe." Bokomon replied. "Oh, you'll get guidance all right." He turned around and I saw that he was a dark green goblin-like digimon. "Wait a minute, I remember you!" Takuya exclaimed. "You're one of those nasty Goblimon from the wind factory." Zoe said. "Come on you guys, let's get him!" Tommy yelled. "No, no, no, Shamanmon is one of the good guys!" Bokomon waved his arms and stood in front of us, as if that could stop us. He then proceeded to tell us all the boring facts about Shamanmon, like he did with most digimon.

Shamanmon started to do a really weird dance, "You should be really careful, ahead you face much danger. You will come up against a foe you have faced before, but this foe has a friend, and in him, you will find a friend is your foe." Takuya looked at Tommy, "I don't buy it." He agreed and Shamanmon pointed his club at them, "Then listen to this, the greatest test will be faced by you two! This test has the power to destroy you all if you're not careful." Shamanmon started walking towards the back of the temple. "Hey come back!" Tommy yelled. "Yeah, we don't want to get destroyed!" Takuya added. "Then remember who you are and trust in each other and your friendship." The building shook and Shamanmon fell onto his back. "Guys, run for it!" J.P. yelled.

We ran out of the temple, only to find that Grumblemon was there, and he was on top of a giant rock digimon with a metal mask. "Old foe, big friend." Takuya said. "It's Golemon!" Bokomon shouted. "Grumblemon come with big angry surprise for little spirit kids." Grumblemon said to us. "One of these days, I'm going to beat this jerk for good!" Koji said. "When are you going to learn that you can't do everything on your own?" Zoe asked. Golemon lunged at us, "Oh, save me!" Neemon cried. "Just give me a minute." He jumped back, away from Golemon, "Okay, minute's over." We all got our D-Tectors out with the exception of Zoe. "Execute, Spirit Evolution! Takuya, Tommy, and J.P. yelled. Agunimon, Kumamon, and Beetlemon appeared in their places. "Now for the beast!" Koji yelled, but Grumblemon had other ideas. "Me no think so." Grumblemon threw some sparkling dust at Koji and he was trapped in the middle of a star. "What's going on? I can't move." Koji said, frozen in a crouch. "Sorry, no KendoGarurumon play today. You no move until Grumblemon say so."

I didn't like these odds. "Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution!" Everyone looked at me in surprise as I turned into my beast form. "Gatowomon!" I yelled. "What? You no supposed to have beast spirit!" Grumblemon exclaimed. Zoe glared at me, "I hope you can control yourself, kitty." I hissed at her and faced Grumblemon. "So, you no control it yet? This going be fun." I smiled, let him think that I couldn't control it, he would just underestimate me. "Slide Evolution! Gigasmon!" He turned into his beast form. "Crystal Breeze!" Kumamon yelled, aiming it at Golemon. Golemon just knocked him aside. "Kumamon! Thunder Fist!" He brought it down on Golemon's head. It didn't do any damage. I glanced at Agunimon, "You guys get Golemon, and I'll get Gigasmon." "But, you can't defeat him alone." He protested. "I have a secret weapon, control of my beast spirit." I winked at him.

Gigasmon was sitting on a pillar, just watching the show. I jumped up behind him, an enraged expression on my face, "Cat Claw!" My extended claws raked across his back, and he cried out in pain. "You no should done that." He started spinning, but before he could really get going, I yelled, "Lightning Whip!" My whip wrapped around him the more he spun, and when he was almost to the end of my whip, I flicked my wrist and sent him flying towards Golemon. He hit him straight on and destroyed his own ally. My friends looked at me in shock. They obviously weren't expecting that, and to be honest, neither was I, it just sort of came to me. While the others were distracted, he attacked Kumamon, "Quagmire Twister!" His attack knocked his spirit out of him. "Tommy!" I yelled. I jumped down from the pillar, but it was too late. Gigasmon ate Tommy's spirit. I caught him before he could hit the ground, and took him over to where Zoe was.

Gigasmon jumped in the air, "Tectonic slam!" At that moment, the temple behind us exploded, what looked like a tyrannosaurus rex with flaming wings coming out of its back came from the explosion. It attacked Gigasmon then growled, giving me a good chance to look at it. It had red and gold armor covering its entire body, and a red and gold striped tail. A white and black mask covered its face. "What is that thing?" Agunimon asked. "You mean other than bad news?" Beetlemon replied. "Now hold on, that thing could be on our side!" Bokomon shouted at them. "Okay, but somehow I don't think so." Agunimon responded. "Whoever he is, he seems very upset." Neemon said. The monster lunged at Gigasmon, who responded by diving at the ground, "I go bye now." The star around Koji disappeared, and he ran back to us. "We have to leave guys, if that thing comes after us, I don't think that we can defeat him." I said to everyone. "Gatowomon is right, come on everybody." Koji immediately agreed with me. "Right, are you coming, Agunimon?" Beetlemon asked. Agunimon was still staring at the monster. "Agunimon, what are you doing?" He was walking towards the monster, mumbling to himself so I couldn't hear him.

Suddenly, the monster attacked him, making him jump up and attack back. I stood in shock as they attacked back and forth, only to have Agunimon fall to the ground. The monster stepped on him, and was about to shoot him, when he stopped. Agunimon jumped up and attacked with renewed strength. The monster didn't attack back, only let himself be defeated. "Fractal code, digitize!" I watched in awe as Agunimon defeated the monster all by himself. Suddenly, everything went wrong. The fractal code had a spirit in it, his beast spirit. "Takuya, get out of there!" I could see that the beast was taking control just like it had done to me. Agunimon transformed into his beast spirit. "Holy sock!" Neemon exclaimed. "For once I completely agree with you. It seems that the beast spirit has possessed him." Bokomon said.

The beast turned towards us, "Takuya, it's me!" Beetlemon said, but that didn't stop him from attacking. "Takuya, that's J.P.!" Koji yelled. The beast turned towards Koji and dove at him. "Fine, Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution!" He turned into KendoGarurumon. He wheeled around to the other side of the beast and started growling at him. "You guys, think about what you're doing! Koji, Takuya stop this!" Beetlemon was yelling at them. I leaped over to where he was standing. "He can't hear you. He can only think of one thing right now, and that is that we are the enemies and we must be destroyed." He glanced up at me in shock. "I went through it, I know how this works." "Then what do we do to snap him out of it?" I shook my head, "I don't know. Koji was what brought me out of mine. Seeing him lying on the ground, hurt because of me, it really killed me to see him like that. I didn't even know who he was until you guys yelled out his name."

The beast attacked me and Beetlemon, but I jumped out of the way. Beetlemon fell to the ground. "Takuya, stop." KendoGarurumon said, and came up behind him, only to be hit with his enormous tail. He grabbed Beetlemon by the head and threw him down on KendoGarurumon. I ran over to them. "There has to be a way to stop them." KendoGarurumon looked at me, but I shook my head, "Like I just got through telling Beetlemon, I don't know." "Alright, if it's a fight you want, fight me." KendoGarurumon rushed at the beast. "Is he really going to fight him? What if one of them gets hurt?" Zoe asked.

KendoGarurumon and Beetlemon were leading the beast into the forest. "Pyro Barrage!" He yelled, causing a lot of the forest to catch on fire. "Come on guys, you have to get out of here." I grabbed Tommy and Zoe's hands and pulled them through the not yet burnt part of the forest. "Wait for us!" Bokomon yelled and dragged Neemon along after him. "I get it, I'm running, now let go of my hand!" Zoe yelled at me. "Fine!" I hissed at her. I noticed that Tommy was struggling to keep up, "Do you want me to give you a piggyback ride, Tommy?" He nodded. I let him climb up on my back, then ran faster, catching up to everyone else in a matter of seconds. When we got outside the forest, I set Tommy down, "I'm going to go help the others fight now." I turned to Zoe, "Keep them safe." She nodded.

The beast tried to attack them, but I used my catlike reflexes to confuse him, "Hey big guy, over here." I called from his left, but leapt over him before he could see me. "What are you doing looking that way? I'm on this side of you." I continued this trick until he got really mad, "Wildfire Tsunami!" He let lose a wave of flames. I tried to avoid it, but the wave was too big. "Ouch." I fell to the ground. "Pyro Barrage!" He shot his guns at me, and I felt my fractal code surround me. "Jade!" Tommy yelled and stepped in front of me. "Takuya, please, you've got to stop this! Fight it, Takuya I know you don't want to hurt any of us!" Tommy yelled up at the beast. Tommy spread his arms to show that he was defenseless. "Tommy!" I yelled. "Don't you get it, we're your friends. We're here to help you." He stepped towards the beast, and it took a step back. Then, it roared and picked Tommy up in his hand.

"Takuya, don't hurt him!" I yelled up at him. "He's just a kid; he couldn't hurt you if he tried." Tommy looked at the beast, "Don't you remember me?" A single tear dropped from his eye into the beast's eye. He blinked a couple times. The beast put Tommy down then turned around and ran. He hit his head on a rock multiple times, destroying it. He turned back into himself. He sat on the ground crying.

I stood up, swaying a little from the beating that I had taken. I walked over to Takuya and put my hand on his shoulder. I looked down at him with sad, understanding eyes. He looked up at me and nodded. I helped him up and led him to a pond where Zoe and the others had fled to. I washed my cuts in the water and winced at the stinging. "Takuya, are you okay?" Tommy asked our quiet leader. "I should be asking you that, thanks Tommy." Tommy blushed. "Aw, it was nothing." "It wasn't nothing, it was one of the bravest things I've ever seen!" "Well I owed you one, so now we're even." Takuya nodded then looked at me, "Now I can truthfully say that I'm sorry for getting mad at you when you lost control of your beast spirit." I shrugged, "At least you didn't hurt anyone that badly." I winced as I started to clean a giant gash on my leg. Takuya frowned, "That looks pretty bad." I waved him away, "I'll be fine, it's not that bad."

"Let's start walking, I'm sure that we'll run into Grumblemon sooner or later, and then we can get your spirits back and teach him a lesson." Everyone agreed and started walking into the forest. I followed behind them, but the pain in my leg was so bad that I started to limp. "The book says that the roots make the forest paths treacherous, oh that's ridiculous-" Bokomon started to say before he tripped over a root. Great, now I'll have to be even more careful with my walking. Koji looked back to see me struggling to get over a log. He helped me over, and then put my arm over his shoulder and his arm around my waist so that I could lean on him to walk. I smiled at him, "Thanks Koji." He smiled back at me and we walked faster, trying to catch up with the others. "Hey, check it out! What's up with these roots?" J.P. asked as we looked down at a bunch of connecting roots. There were eight starting points, and at the bottom there were four ex's and one o. The o obviously resembled the winner circle. "Pick a line, and let's go!" Neemon said. "Cool, I pick this one." Zoe said. "This one's mine." Tommy said. I took my arm from around Koji's shoulders, "I want this one." Koji looked at me, "You're hurt, you can't balance on the root with that leg." I stuck out my lower lip, "Don't be such a spoil sport, Koko." He raised his eyebrows, "Koko?" I smiled, "That's your new nickname." He rolled his eyes and picked the root next to mine. We ended up in this order: Bokomon, Neemon, Tommy, Takuya, Me, Koji, Zoe, J.P.. "Ready, set, go!" Takuya yelled. I ran down my root, playing the game and hoping for the win. In the end, Tommy and Takuya won and I got stuck in an x with Zoe. I sighed; it's just my luck to be paired up with her. "Yeah, so what's the big deal?" J.P. asked from the x next to mine. Suddenly, the dirt beneath our feet turned into a giant mud pool. I immediately relaxed, knowing that struggling was only going to make it worse.

Takuya and Tommy threw a vine at us, trying to pull us up. It wasn't working at all. Suddenly, a cloud of dust shot up and Grumblemon appeared. "Look who here." "It's Grumblemon, no!" Takuya said. "Grumblemon, yes, and you right where I want you. Look like you two win race, too bad winners now big losers. Now, it spirit taking time." "Actually, I think it's getting stuck in the mud time." Neemon corrected. "You not quiet you learn hard way it really hammer smashing time, got it?" Grumblemon said to him. "Now, it time to take care of you." He pointed at Takuya and Tommy. "Can't we all just be friends?" Takuya asked. "Quiet now, no one give me much trouble as you, you know you lose, why not you play nice?" "So what, we should just hand over our spirits? Forget it, it's never going to happen, especially now that I have my beast spirit." Takuya was getting angry. "Now why me not afraid of that?" "You should be, because it's really powerful." Takuya bragged. "It only powerful if you can control, and I betting you no learn how yet, that why you look so afraid." Takuya stepped back. "See, you tell me all I need know." He brought a hammer out of the ground and tried to hit Takuya and Tommy with it. Takuya pushed Tommy up a tree, "Hurry." He then turned to face Grumblemon. "Execute, Slide Evolution! Gigasmon!" Takuya got his D-Tector out, "Execute, Spirit Evolution." He turned into Agunimon.

Agunimon started to attack with fire, "Hasn't the forest had enough fire today?" Bokomon called out to him. "Right." He lunged at Gigasmon, who only knocked him out of the way and used his Quagmire Twister attack on him. Gigasmon then jumped up and grabbed Tommy from the tree he was in. "Gigasmon put him down." Agunimon said. "If you want him, you have come take him." He laughed and climbed the tree. Agunimon looked back at us. "Don't worry, we're fine now, we're just kind of stuck here." Koji said to him. "Right." Agunimon climbed the tree and we lost sight of him. I sighed, "Well, this is going great." "Don't be such a pessimist." Zoe said, "At least we aren't still sinking." "Ah! This is going to hurt!" Agunimon came crashing through the trees, and into the ground. "I was right." He turned back into himself. "Takuya, are you okay?" I yelled through everyone else's concern. "Yeah, but Tommy's still in trouble, and I don't know how to save him." Takuya said. "Looks like a human spirit just can't compete with a beast spirit, you have to turn into BurningGreymon." Koji told him. "But I can't, what if I lose control again?" "You can do it Takuya." I said to him. "Don't be afraid, just remember what Tommy said. Remember who your friends are and you'll be fine." Zoe told him.

"What? Not want help friend? Play time over, now give me spirit. You hurry, maybe you save him." Gigasmon had Tommy tied up, and dangling from a rope in his hand. "No, don't do it Takuya, don't trade your spirit for me! It's okay, I'm not afraid!" Tommy's bravery surprised me. This was once the kid who cried at the thought of being stuck in a tunnel with me and J.P.. He really has grown up. Gigasmon had brought Tommy up into his hand. "I'm not afraid of you!" Tommy told him. "Well, you should be." Gigasmon grabbed a vine and swung away from where Takuya was still standing on the ground. "No, Tommy! That's it, if Tommy can show courage in the face of that freak, then so can I. Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution! BurningGreymon!" He turned into his beast spirit. BurningGreymon ran down the path and rammed his head into the tree that Gigasmon was in. He jumped to a different tree, so BurningGreymon hit that one with his tail, catching Gigasmon off guard and forcing him to lose his balance. He held on with one hand to the branch that he previously stood on. BurningGreymon threw a branch at the hand that was holding Tommy and Gigasmon dropped him. Tommy fell to the ground, BurningGreymon dove and barely caught him.

"Tommy, you okay?" BurningGreymon asked him. "Yeah, check it out, you got control of your beast spirit." Tommy replied. "Thanks to you, buddy." "I'll help the others, now go get him!" "Right!" BurningGreymon flew up to Gigasmon and threw grabbed him, taking him above the trees and out of my sight. Tommy ran towards us. "Hey guys, how do you want to do this?" He asked us. I thought about it, "Pull the smallest out first, and then move your way up." He nodded, "Sounds like a plan." He threw the vine to Neemon. After about ten minutes of pulling, he finally got Neemon out. He then threw the vine to Bokomon. With Neemon's help, he cut the time in half. "Alright, you're doing great Tommy, now to pull Zoe out." She looked at me, "Why is he pulling me out? You're skinnier than me, which makes you weigh less than me." "Yes, but I'm taller than you, making us about even weight, but it would take longer to pull me out because of my length." She finally gave in and it took about twenty minutes for them to finally pull her out. "Alright, you're turn Jade." I nodded and took the vine. I pulled with all my might, feeling myself move through the mud and to the surface. Once my arms were on land, I used them to pull my legs up. When I was completely out of the mud, I collapsed on the ground, breathing hard from the exercise. "Aren't you going to get up to help us?" Zoe sneered down at me. I glared at her and got to my feet, wincing at the pain in my leg. "Just catching my breath, Wind." She frowned at the nickname, but let it go, handing me the vine. "Alright Koji, you're turn." I threw him the vine. When we finally got him out, I felt like my leg was on fire, but I didn't want to show any weakness to Zoe, so I threw the vine to J.P., ready to pull him out. It took all our strength to pull J.P. out. I wanted to collapse on the ground again, but settled for leaning against a tree as he caught his breath.

I sighed, and closed my eyes a little bit. I felt really dizzy, and could tell that I was swaying on my feet. I shook it off; we had to go help Takuya. "Come on guys, Takuya might need our help." Everyone started running, and I fell to the back of the pack. Soon, I was struggling to keep up, then to even see them. I stopped to catch my breath. I leaned against a tree and took deep, steady breaths. I closed my eyes, feeling my heartbeat get back to normal; I opened my eyes and turned back to the path, only to see Koji staring at me with concern. I frowned at him, "Koji, you are one of the only people with a beast spirit, you need to be there for Takuya." His eyes narrowed at me, what did I do to make him angry? "Right now, I need to be there for you, considering you don't take the time to worry about yourself. Did you ever think that what you're doing could be wrong? That pushing yourself isn't always a good thing?" He backed me up toward the tree, still angry, "Don't you think that other people worry about you? Did you ever think of that?" He punched the tree next to where my head was. I looked at him with wide eyes; this was a side of Koji that I hadn't seen. "Did you ever think that I might want you to be safe? Lots of people care about you Jade! And I'm one of them." His eyes turned sad, "Don't hurt yourself just to prove to someone that you're strong, the only important person already knows you are strong, even if she won't admit it." "Who?" I ask. "You, you're the only one who you have to prove yourself to, got it?" I nodded. "Good." He pressed his lips against mine and I put my arms around his neck.

We pulled apart when we ran out of air. He smiled down at me, "Now, we are going to help the others, but you will be riding on my back so that you don't further injure you leg, got it?" "Yes." I gave him a quick peck on the cheek before wrapping my arms around his neck and feeling him support my legs. He ran towards the end of the forest, where everybody else was watching as BurningGreymon turned back into Takuya. "I can't believe Grumblemon still has my spirit." Zoe sighed then looked at me, perched on Koji's back. "Where did you guys go?" Koji gently placed me on the ground, "We needed a breather." Koji replied. He gently rolled up my pants until he could see my wound. Everyone gasped, and I looked down to see that it was turning an ugly yellow color, "Great, just my luck." I noticed a small pool of water on our right, "Koji, could you carry me over to that?" He nodded and grabbed my legs with one arm and my back with the other. He set me down next to the water. I quickly pulled off my shoe and rested my leg in the water. The water turned cloudy, and I felt my leg sting, but I just relaxed. When the water turned clear again, my leg was completely healed.

Everyone gawked at me. I looked from person to person, finally resting my eyes on Koji, "What?" He gestured to my leg which I was bringing out of the water at that point. I shrugged, "I don't know. Something inside me told me that the water would be good for it, so I trusted my instinct." Koji smiled down at me, "You're amazing." He helped me to my feet after I had gotten my shoe back on. "Let's make camp for the night, today has been a long day." Everyone agreed with me and we all went to bed, exhausted by the day's events.

**A/N: Finally! They had that first kiss. You were starting to wonder when it would happen, right? Review, please!**


	11. Better An Egg Than An Egg Shell

**A/N: Finally! This has taken forever for me to write, I know. But enjoy it anyway. Thanks to Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 for reviewing my last chapter.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 11<br>Better An Egg Than An Egg Shell**

I awoke to someone shaking me. I waved them away, "Just five more minutes." I heard someone chuckle and then felt a hand brushing my hair away from my face. The hand continued down my face, cupping my cheek and bringing my face up slightly. My eyes opened in shock when my lips were suddenly covered with another's. "That woke you up." Koji smirked down at me. I blushed and looked around, glad that I was the first one that he had woken up. I frowned and looked up at him, "I wasn't done kissing you yet." He grinned as he once again brought his lips down to meet mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck, wanting to keep him in this embrace. I pulled away when I ran out of air. Koji pulled me into a sitting position, "We should probably wake the others up now." "Yes, now let's think about the others, after our lovely wake up kisses." The sarcastic voice startled me. I looked around to see Zoe looking at us with a smirk on her face. I saw that everyone else was awake; they were just looking away like J.P. and Tommy, or grinning at us like Takuya. I sighed, this was going to be an interesting day.

We walked through the forest, hoping that today might be the day that we find the Forest Terminal. I walked next to Koji, our hands brushing every once in a while, making me blush as they made me remember this morning. Koji tensed and grabbed my hand as we were suddenly surrounded by fog. We walked forward until we came to a sign that said Forest Terminal. "We finally made it!" I smiled at Koji, but he was busy looking up the tracks, "Shouldn't there be a Trailmon here?" "Yeah, really." Zoe agreed with him. "Well, maybe they're on their way back right now. Or uh, you know, they uh could be, oh man!" Takuya tried to reason with them, but failed miserably. "Hey, who cares about the Trailmon? There's a restaurant here!" J.P. exclaimed. "Is there ever a time when you aren't thinking about food?" I asked him. He shrugged and we all headed toward the restaurant. Behind the counter, there was a bird with a bush growing out of its back. "Welcome weary travelers." He said. "What do you have to eat?" Tommy got right to the point. "Ask instead what I don't have to eat. Step right up friends, and don't worry about money, for you the first meal is free!" J.P. cheered and ran to get a seat at the counter. "Now there's a man who knows what he likes, or doesn't care what he eats. Yolk surprise, coming up!" He threw six eggs into the air, and pecked each one, making each one land in a bowl of noodles in front of us. "Hail to the chef!" We all exclaimed. Everyone started to dig in. I took a bite and had to stop myself from spitting it right back out. Everyone else was having the same reaction. I was about to tell the bird that I wasn't hungry, when my stomach proved me wrong by growling. When was the last time I had eaten? I groaned when I realized that it was back when we were staying with the KaratsukiNumemon. I looked down at the bowl of noodles and sighed, I needed to keep my strength up. I started shoveling in the noodles, swallowing them quick so that I didn't have to taste them. Everyone was staring at me in horror and amazement.

"Thank you for the meal, it was quite interesting." I said as I stood to get up. Everyone was still staring at me. I tried to help them out, "Come on guys, let's go." Before we could leave, the bird noticed that I was the only one who finished my bowl. "Alright, alright, what's the big idea? I just can't believe all of you are going to turn down free food." He glared at my friends. "That was food?" Zoe asked. "I'm insulted!" The bird replied. "I'm going to be sick." Takuya crossed his arms. "Fine, get out of here, kids you're bugging me. Go ahead and go to the Forest Terminal, they say no one has ever returned from there." The bird threatened. "Yeah, well we'll just take our chances; I doubt the Forest Terminal can be any worse than this food." Takuya remarked and everyone stuck their noses up and looked away. The bird started crying, "Aw, come on guys, I was just trying to be nice, that's all." "Being nice has nothing to do with cooking, and rumors don't matter to us, we've already been told that we have to go to the Forest Terminal." Takuya replied. Everyone got up and left the restaurant. I turned back, "Thanks again for the meal." I smiled at the bird and started walking away. "I have leftovers if you want them." I grimaced, "No thanks." I hurried to catch up to everybody.

"Let's go." Koji said and started leading the way through the fog. I walked next to Koji as we approached the train station. "This place is empty too." Koji remarked. "Yeah, and just a little bit creepy." Zoe replied. We walked next to the tracks. "Keep your eyes peeled guys." Takuya said. "For what? All we can see is fog." J.P. said. We approached a giant tree with a doorway in it. Inside the doorway, there were stairs leading up. "Well, there have to be some people here." Takuya replied. "But what if they're all…ghosts!" J.P. exclaimed. Everyone started looking around in panic at that. Great job J.P., let's scare everyone. We got to the top of the stairs and there was another doorway, leading to a huge branch that made a path. "Well, I guess we have no choice but to keep walking." Takuya said. "Man, this world sure loves its walking." J.P. sighed.

Suddenly we were faced with a split in the path. "Great, now what?" Way to stay optimistic, Takuya. Tommy's D-Tector started making noise. "It's that way." Tommy pointed towards the smaller path. We walked up the path, but came to a dead end. "Tommy, this way's a dead end." Takuya said. "Yeah, are you sure it wasn't the other way?" Zoe asked. J.P.'s D-Tector lit up and flashed a light on the branches blocking our path, making the branches move aside. "Now, for my next trick." J.P. joked. We walked up the path, but the fog seemed to be getting worse the further up we went. "Man, I can't see anything in this fog." Takuya complained. "I know, we could be attacked." Koji agreed. Zoe's D-Tector started to make noise, "Hey, maybe my D-Tector is good for something too." Her D-Tector lit up the whole forest, making the fog disperse.

We looked up to see the towers of a castle rising above the treetops. "I hate it when I'm right." Zoe said. "Why? Now we'll know if someone is going to attack us. It was very helpful." I told her. She smiled and nodded. We walked towards the castle, seeing that it was made of what looked like crystal. "This place is beautiful." Tommy remarked. "That doesn't mean it isn't dangerous." Koji replied. "What if this is where the person from our D-Tectors lives? We did get a message to come here." Tommy said. "Well, should I knock?" J.P. asked, going up to the gate. "I still don't think this is safe." Koji said. His D-Tector started making noise and it lit up, making the gate open. "Well, at least they're polite, I guess." Takuya said. "Yeah, that or eager to lure us in there." J.P. said. We stood, staring at the doors, nobody making a move towards them. "I say we go inside, how bad could it be? Sleeping beauty used to live in a castle in the forest." Zoe commented. "Yeah, well so did the wicked witch." Koji replied. "We'll never find out what's in there if we don't go in." Tommy said as we walked towards the front door. "Says the kid at the back of the line." J.P. commented. Takuya grabbed the knocker and knocked twice. "Maybe nobody lives here." Tommy said. "Maybe you should open up a wishful thinking store, Tommy." Takuya said. Takuya's D-Tector started to shine and the doors opened.

"Get back, Cherubimon scum!" A digimon with white clothes and a white pointed hat said. He was pointing a wand with a snowflake at the end of it at us. He looked a lot like a wizard to me. "Um, isn't that Wizardmon?" Takuya asked. "But he's a different color." Tommy replied. "And meaner." J.P. added. I had no idea what they were talking about. "We can beat him, just like we beat Gigasmon!" Takuya said. I grabbed my D-Tector out of my pocket and got ready to use it if I have to. "Gigasmon? But he's one of Cherubimon's goons." "Yeah." Takuya said. "So you're not allies with Cherubimon." I raised my eyebrows at the digimon. "Are you kidding?" Zoe put her hands on her hips. "Look, why don't you put that wand down, okay? We're all on the same side, isn't that obvious?" Koji said while walking towards the digimon. The digimon lowered his wand, "This is what comes of fighting too much, everyone seems to be an enemy. I apologize friends, how did you find this place?"

"We got a message that told us all to come to the Forest Terminal, but there was no one there and when we kept walking we ended up here on your doorstep." Takuya replied. "Oh, a message, could it be? My solitude has driven common courtesy from me, I apologize. My name is Sorcermon. Please, come in. I have something important to show you." Sorcermon turned around and started walking down the front hall of the castle. Koji and Takuya looked at each other then nodded and started walking forward. I followed behind Koji and the rest trailed behind us.

We had been walking for a few minutes in silence, never leaving the hall for any of the many doorways. "Where are you taking us anyway?" Koji asked. "To meet someone." Sorcermon replied, not missing a step. "I bet it's a trap." Koji said. "You think everything's a trap." I chuckled at Tommy's reply. "Caution is wise friends, but only within reason. This is no trap, this is a prophecy." Sorcermon pressed his hand against a wall, and it opened like a door, revealing a hidden room. We gasped in shock. "So, where is he?" Takuya asked. "Up there. Allow me to introduce our salvation, Seraphimon." We looked up to the ceiling to see a giant crystal. Inside, there was a digimon that looked like a more advanced version of Angemon. "Um, are we supposed to know who that is?" Zoe asked. I knew exactly who it was. I still had the memory of my spirit choosing Seraphimon as one of the three that would rule after we defeated Lucemon. "Seraphimon was one of the three celestial digimon chosen to rule this world."

"So, what are we supposed to do? He's all frozen up." Takuya asked. "Perhaps not for long, there is a prophecy." Sorcermon said. Great, a prophecy, are you going to tell us what it is? "Let your light shine as one." The voice that came from our D-Tectors ordered. "That was Lady Ophanimon, she's the one who asked me to watch over Seraphimon." Sorcermon explained. "Ophanimon? She must be the voice that told us to come here." Takuya said. "It's all falling into place. I brought you here because the prophecy says that one day a group of wayward humans will free Seraphimon." Sorcermon told us. "Typical, humans get to do everything, when is my turn?" Bokomon complained. "How about next week?" Neemon said to him. "Be quiet." Bokomon ordered him.

"So what did she mean?" Koji asked. "I bet it has something to do with our D-Tectors." Zoe replied. Our D-Tectors all started to shoot light from them. I moved my D-Tector around, seeing that it moved the light. "Hey guys, focus them up there." Takuya said, and we all pointed them at Seraphimon. The crystal surrounding him disappeared, and down floated Seraphimon on his ten golden wings. "The prophecy!" Sorcermon exclaimed. "Welcome back Lord Seraphimon." "It's good to be back, my faithful servant. You have done well. Sorcermon tell me, there is so little I remember." Seraphimon hadn't noticed us yet. "My Lord, when your defeat seemed imminent, Ophanimon was able to get you to safety she sealed you away from danger so that you could be revived after the trouble had passed." Seraphimon stepped back in shock, "Ophanimon, that's right. Has she been harmed? Why isn't she here?" "Truth is often unpleasant, I'm afraid. Nobody knows where she is. But these humans have been in contact with her, so all is not lost." Sorcermon gestured to us. "These humans? But, they're only children." Bokomon stepped forward, "Yes, but they're also legendary warriors, and if not for them you'd still be stuck to the ceiling." I cringed at his disrespectful comments. "Legendary warriors, impressive." He looked straight at me, noticing the tiara on my head and nodded in recognition of my title. I bowed my head back at him and smiled slightly.

"Hey listen, just what is going on here? We've been led all over, getting our snot kicked out, and we don't even know why we were brought into this crazy world!" Takuya glared at Seraphimon. "Yeah, someone owes us some answers." Zoe agreed. "And I think you're that someone, so tell us what's going on." Koji demanded. I shook my head at them, knowing that they were way out of place making demands to Lord Seraphimon. "Um, please." Tommy said, the only polite one of the group. "Very well brave ones, I shall tell you." Seraphimon said. "If you want answers you will have them. The story begins long ago, when human digimon and beast digimon warred against each other. Their battle lay waste to the digital world, befouling what was once beautiful. But Lucemon appeared, and put an end to the fighting. For a time he ruled in peace, but soon he was corrupted by his own power." "My, this story sure sounds familiar." Bokomon interrupted. "Bokomon!" We all yelled at him. "What?" He replied. "The ten legendary warriors and their princess arose to free the oppressed and abused digimon. They battled valiantly, and after a fierce struggle, they were able to defeat the tyrannical Lucemon. After peace was restored to the digital world, the Princess chose three champions to protect that peace. Cherubimon, Ophanimon, and myself, but as before, our time of harmony was short lived. Cherubimon wanted to control the digital world by himself, and so attacked me. You know the rest of the story thanks to Sorcermon. Ophanimon rescued me and brought me to safety here. Where I have slumbered and regained my strength until I was awakened by you legendary warriors." Seraphimon ended his story.

"Luckily, you came when we needed Seraphimon most. The digital world is in a crisis, as you can see." Sorcermon held up his wand and showed an image of the digital world. There were holes all over, from Cherubimon's goons taking fractal codes. "Man, the digital world looks like Swiss Cheese." Takuya remarked. "And the future looks even more bleak. You see, Cherubimon has sent his minions to destroy it." Sorcermon replied. "This is even more serious than I'd imagined. We must find Ophanimon at once." Seraphimon demanded. "Yes my Lord, your combined might can surely defeat Cherubimon, and of course you'll have my help. While you've slept I felt that I have too, and I have dreamt only of fighting by your side against that evil creature." Sorcermon said. "Dear, brave Sorcermon, you are a true friend. Thank you, your courage gives me strength." Seraphimon told him. "I am as you taught me." Sorcermon replied. Seraphimon turned towards us, "And I must thank you, for your courage. All would be lost were it not for you. But now I must ask that you do one more favor for me. Before the fighting begins, go back to your own world." We all looked at him in shock. "Your task is done, and it's too dangerous for you to stay." Seraphimon explained. "But we're legendary warriors!" Takuya exclaimed. "Yeah, we can't just walk away now." Zoe agreed.

Suddenly, a hammer burst through the wall that we had come from. In walked Grumblemon and three other digimon. I recognized them as the legendary warriors of water, wood, and steel. Ranamon was wearing a blue full body swimsuit over her green skin. Her red eyes matched the jewels on her hat and gloves. Arbormon looked like a mechanical person. He had gears sticking out all from his orange and yellow armor. Last, but not least was Mercurymon. His armor was green and red. He had a mirror for a face, two mirror shields, and a mirror on his stomach. I narrowed my eyes at those who my spirit used to call friends. "Good, whole brat brigade here." Grumblemon said as they walked towards us. "And ready to fight." Takuya said. "You better be, because me introduce other digimon who defeat you, Ranamon." "Charmed, I'm sure." Ranamon had a southern accent. "Arbormon." Grumblemon continued. "You're in for it now, right?" Arbormon said. "And lastly, Mercurymon." Grumblemon finished. "So these be the whelps that have given thee so much trouble? Pathetic!" Mercurymon said. I knew that his old English accent was going to bug me. "Well, they tougher than look." Grumblemon said.

"It shall be utter delight to defeat thee and to take Seraphimon's fractal code in Cherubimon's name." I could barely understand what Mercurymon said. "With so many options, I don't know where to start." Ranamon said. "Enough of your meaningless taunts, tell me where Ophanimon is, now!" Seraphimon ordered. "Me no care about her, me just want beast spirit back, so give it!" Grumblemon replied. "Why don't you come get it, buddy?" Takuya asked. "Yeah!" Everyone agreed. We all grabbed our D-Tectors except for Zoe. "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" We all spirit evolved to our human spirits. "The legendary warriors have returned." Sorcermon said. Zoe backed up, not wanting to get in our way as we fought. "If that big idiot hadn't stolen my spirit, I'd show him a thing or two."

"Yeah, well did, and now I show you thing or three." Grumblemon said. "Are you sure you don't want to get warmed up first?" Agunimon asked before attacking, "Pyro Darts!" He threw his fire at them, but they all dodged it. We each attacked someone after they were split up. "Evil Charm!" I made the dark cross in the air and sent it at Mercurymon, but he just dodged it. "Thanks for the overwhelmingly underwhelming lesson in combat, let me show you how it's done! Drainin' Rain!" She created a dark cloud and it flew over us and started raining. I felt my power leaving me as the rain drenched us. "Roundhouse Punt!" Arbormon threw his foot out on a long rope and kicked each of us, but I dodged it, knowing what was coming. The boys all got thrown into the wall. "That was too easy." Ranamon said. "Right." Arbormon agreed. "Um, hello? Miss someone?" I looked at them with a smirk on my face. "Sugar, I would not be smirking if I had Mercurymon behind me." Ranamon's said. "Mirror Offset!" I jumped into the air before Mercuymon's beam of light could hit me. I smiled at their surprised expressions, they expected me to be ignorant of their powers, but my memories of their training sessions were still strong. I knew that I was pushing my luck, trying to fight them all on my own, but I would have to try. "Heaven's Wave!" My dark angels attacked them, gathering them in one place.

"Guys, lend me your power." I looked at Koji and nodded, telling him that I was going to use my best attack. They all nodded and an aura of power built up, then came into my body. I gasped at the power filling my body; it hurt to have so much strength, so I let it go, "Darkness Charge!" The energy flew out of me in a swirling mass of swirling light and darkness. I fell to the floor in exhaustion. The attack hit, but Mercurymon gathered up most of the energy in his mirror shield, "Dark Reflection!" My attack shot back out at me, but I was too weak to dodge it. I flew back, and my body dug into the wall at least a foot. I fainted.

I awoke to the sound of Seraphimon yelling, "Strike of the Seven Stars!" Suddenly, Mercurymon appeared in front of the attack and absorbed the attack into his mirror, "Dark Reflection!" He shot it back out at Seraphimon. The attack hit him right on, making his fractal code appear around him. "To the victor go the spoils." Mercurymon said as he collected the fractal code into his mirror. Seraphimon's form turned into a digi-egg. "No!" I yelled and jumped from the wall, only to fall on my knees and back into a human. "Seraphimon turned into a digi-egg!" Agunimon said, stating the obvious. "How ironic, Seraphimon sought to defeat Cherubimon, but now his fractal code shall be used for our ends." Mercurymon smirked. "No, it can't be! The hope of the digital world is gone." Sorcermon said. "No it's not!" Zoe yelled as she jumped up and grabbed the egg. "Maybe we can bring him back if we have his egg, right Sorcermon?" "Yes, we must protect that egg at all costs!" Sorcermon ordered. "Oh, thou shan't get far." Mercurymon said. "If we can get the egg to Ophanimon, she may be able to revive Seraphimon." Sorcermon said.

We were backed against the wall, I had no strength to make a break for it, and I knew that everyone else was tired too. Suddenly, the wall behind us shattered and we started running out of the room through a door that was behind the crystal. I ran as fast as I could, but I was still at the back of the line. I knew that I wouldn't be able to go much farther, but I had to try. Everyone was back to their human form. We were running through a straight corridor. "Quick, this way!" Sorcermon shouted. "Well, duh!" J.P. said. Koji was at the back with me, and when he saw me start to slow down, he grabbed my hand and pulled me faster. There was an explosion from where we came from. "Me coming get you!" Grumblemon said as he raced towards us with Ranamon and Arbormon. We got to the end of the hall to see Sorcermon open a door leading to a tunnel with a Trailmon in it. "Wow, a getaway Trailmon!" J.P. exclaimed. "Thank goodness! Come on, let's go!" Takuya said. We all ran and got on the Trailmon, with Takuya and Koji on the sides, and the rest of us in the back. "Sorcermon, hurry up!" Zoe called back to our friend. "I'm not coming." He replied. "What?" She was shocked. "The egg is all that matters now, I must ensure its safety, now go, there isn't much time!" "You don't stand a chance!" Takuya yelled back at him. "Take care of Seraphimon, he's our last hope." Sorcermon said before closing the door.

"No, we won't leave you!" Tommy yelled as the Trailmon started to move. Tommy started to cry, "Sorcermon!" "Tommy, that isn't helping anyone!" Zoe said sharply. Tommy stopped crying. I patted his back, "You have to be strong, Tommy. Sorcermon is trusting us to save the world." He nodded and sat up straight. "I can't believe this is all that's left of Seraphimon." Zoe was huddled around the egg. "I'm never going to let this go." "That egg may be the most important thing in the digital world right now, it's its last hope. So all of Cherubimon's forces will be gunning for it, but no matter what happens we've got to protect it. We can't let Sorcermon's sacrifice be in vain. I hate to say this, but it's up to us now guys." Takuya said.

**A/N: I'm not really satisfied with this chapter, but the next one should be better, I hope. Please review. :)**


	12. No Whamon

**A/N: Finally, I know that it has been at least a week since I have posted and I am sorry for the wait, please enjoy. Thanks to Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 and KittyKatt67 for reviewing chapter 11. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, if I did, I would have given Grumblemon a less annoying way of speaking. ;)**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 12<br>No Whamon**

I tried to relax against the side of the car, but I cried out when I felt stabs of pain in my back. Zoe looked at me with concern, "What's the matter, Jade?"

"Nothing, my back is just a little sore from my collision with the wall." I didn't want everyone worrying about me, when they should be worrying about the egg. Suddenly, the Trailmon sped up. I braced my feet against the floor. "Looks like this is going to be a bumpy ride, everybody hold on." Everyone nodded and grabbed whatever was close to them. We went around the first turn, my body was about to fly into Tommy, so I quickly pushed my back against the wall, ignoring the pain. I sat there, with my feet pushing me against the wall, the pain so bad that I couldn't even pay attention to what anyone was saying.

We sped up even more right after the next turn, making me push even harder with my feet. We turned around another corner, and the ride became a little smoother, but not much. Bokomon walked up to Zoe and said something, while taking the egg from where she was holding it close to her. He put it in his pink band. Tommy reached out to touch the egg, but Bokomon slapped his hand away. Man, this pain in my back is getting worse. I started to see black spots. I blinked, trying to clear my vision, but they only got worse, and then I blacked out.

I awoke to a sharp sting in my cheek. I blinked a couple of times to see Zoe standing over me, getting ready to slap me again, "Come on, wake up!" I covered my face with my hand when her hand started to get closer. "Oh, you're awake!" Zoe brought her hand back.

"Ouch, what did you do that for?" I rubbed my cheek with my hand.

"You passed out, if I hadn't woken you up, you would have fallen right out of the Trailmon." Zoe had her hands on her hips.

"Well, thank you." I smiled up at her.

"End of the line and all is fine. Happy travels." Trailmon told us. Zoe helped me get out of the back and onto the ground. Trailmon backed up and we all waved goodbye.

Koji looked down at me with his arms crossed, "What happened?"

"Well, I just, um, maybe passed out." I looked at the ground.

"You maybe passed out? Jade, if something is the matter, then we can talk about it. If you get to the point of passing out, then it is not okay." Koji was getting really mad, but I know that he was really just concerned.

"Hey, don't get mad at her. It wasn't her fault. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I think that it might have been from her hitting the wall before. It did some pretty bad damage to her back." Zoe tried to stick up for me. Wait, _Zoe_ was sticking up for me? This was something new.

"No, he's right. You even asked me what was wrong, and I lied, saying that I was only sore, when the pain was obviously above being sore." I smiled at Zoe, still avoiding Koji's eyes.

Koji sighed, "Let's have a look at your back, then we will have to get moving before Grumblemon and the others catch up with us. Lie down on your stomach." I did as I was told and he was about to lift up my shirt when Zoe smacked his hand away.

"I'll do it, you boys look away. I'm sure Jade doesn't want you looking up her shirt, even if it is only her back." Zoe shooed the boys away and took a peek at my back. She gasped, "Wow, this is even worse than I thought."

"What?" I turned my head to look at her.

"Your back is bleeding. We will need something to cover it up. Bokomon, do you have any cloth that we can use in there?" Zoe looked at the white digimon.

"Of course." He searched his pink band until he came across some purple cloth. He handed it to Zoe.

"Alright, you should sit up, so that I can wrap this around you. Boys, if you even think of peeking, I will hit you so hard that you will forget your own name." Zoe glared at the boys while I followed her instructions. I took of my shirt so that I only had on my black tank top over my black bra. I blushed and turned my back to the boys, taking it off the tank top. Zoe quickly wrapped the cloth around me, tying it in the front. I hurried to put my tank top back on, followed by my shirt.

I stood up, still a little shaky on my feet. Koji quickly came over to me and put his arm around my waist to help me walk. I put my arm around his shoulders. We started to run through the cave, knowing that we had wasted enough time. "Hey everybody, there's an opening up ahead." Takuya announced.

"Let's just hope it gets us outside." Koji remarked.

"Yeah." Takuya agreed as we ran through the opening to another cave. The cave had many support beams holding up the ceiling and a pool in the middle of the room. There was a path zigzagging down to the floor from where we stood. We groaned.

"This doesn't look like outside to me, does this look like outside to you?" J.P. complained.

"Well, duh! It's an underground cavern." Zoe said.

"Where's the exit?" Takuya asked.

"There must be one somewhere." Koji replied.

"Right." Takuya agreed. Koji slowly took his arm from around my waist, looking at me to make sure that everything was okay. I nodded and took my own arm back. Zoe came to stand beside me, nodding at Koji to go. He and Takuya leapt from the opening, going to search for an exit.

"Hey, wait for me! If Grumblemon finds us down here, we'll be in big trouble." Tommy jumped down after them, with Bokomon and Neemon following behind him.

"Let him find us, I'm not afraid of that stupid runt!" J.P. said angrily.

"Wow, are you trying to impress me with this show of courage, J.P.?" Zoe looked over at him.

"I'm not trying to show anything, give me a break, will you? Grumblemon stole your spirit and I want to get it back, it's as simple as that." J.P. looked to her with determination on his face.

"I'm a…" Zoe seemed speechless.

"Maybe we should just turn back and fight him and get this over with." J.P. said.

"Do you really mean that?" Zoe asked.

"Yeah, you'd better believe it." J.P. replied.

Zoe shrugged, "Well, it's your funeral."

J.P. pouted, "Can I change my mind?" He jumped down to help the others search.

"You know, we could probably get a lot more done if you went to help them. You don't have to stay with me." I looked down at the boys searching along the walls, feeling useless.

"If I left you here, who would help you if we were attacked? You're the princess, right? I couldn't leave you all alone here if I knew that something bad was going to happen." Zoe smiled at me.

"Wow, I'm not complaining, but when did you stop hating me?" I looked at her with curiosity.

"I never really hated you, I just strongly disliked you." Zoe laughed, "But, I guess it was when I saw your leg and how injured it was. I knew that if I hadn't pushed you to help us pull Koji out, then it probably wouldn't have been that bad. I felt bad that I had caused you pain." Zoe bit her lip.

I smiled at her, "It wasn't your fault, if I wasn't so stubborn, I would have quit, even with you challenging me." She smiled back and held her fist up. I held mine up and we fist bumped. Suddenly, water shot out of the pool, hitting Tommy and J.P., throwing them against the wall. "Tommy!" We all yelled.

"J.P.." Tommy mumbled.

"Oh, gee, are you all right little man?" J.P. held Tommy by his shoulders. "Hey, how come nobody yelled out my name?" More water started to come out of the pool; actually, it looked like _all _of the water was coming out of the pool. J.P. screamed.

"Mama mia!" Zoe exclaimed.

"Definitely," Takuya started.

"Not good." Koji finished. The water started to die down, revealing a giant whale-like digimon.

"What's Whamon doing down here? He lives in the ocean." Bokomon asked.

"Who is Whamon?" Zoe looked at Bokomon.

"He's a whale digimon, and he seems to be quite out of his element." Bokomon explained.

"I can't stand it anymore, do you hear me? I can't stand it!" Whamon yelled.

"He's normally a very gentle digimon, something really must be upsetting him." Bokomon said.

"I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home!" Whamon yelled, thrashing around.

"We've got to stop him!" Koji said.

"Um, all right, I'm ready to go when you are." Takuya said. They both got out their D-Tectors. Takuya yelled, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" He turned into Agunimon.

Next, Koji yelled, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" He transformed into Lobomon. They both jumped onto Whamon, trying to reason with him. "Alright big guy, just calm down."

"Yeah, what is the matter with you?" Agunimon asked.

"Leave me alone!" Whamon threw his head back, making Lobomon and Agunimon fly off. They both landed on their feet. They looked at each other and nodded. They jumped onto Whamon again, this time yelling at him that he was going to doom us all by taking out the support beams. Whamon calmed down after hearing this.

"Come on, let's go talk to him." I started down the path, dragging Zoe along with me for support if I needed it. It was taking so long, that Lobomon jumped over to us. He pulled me into his arms and nodded at Zoe before he jumped back down to where Whamon was finally calmed down in the water.

"You seem to be feeling better now, Whamon. Can you tell us why you were so upset?" Zoe jumped down easily, not having to wait for me anymore. I felt guilty; all I do is slow everybody down.

"Oh, I hate this place! I just want to go back to my home in the ocean. Until very recently, I was swimming, happy and free in the sea, not a care in the world. Then, one day I saw this delicious looking glowing plant. I couldn't help myself, I decided to take a little nibble. Oh, it was yummy! Suddenly, a giant wave pulled me towards the beach. All the rocks started breaking and they fell around me as I was pulled someplace. Next thing I knew, I was stuck in this place with no way out!" Whamon started to cry.

"Here we go again." Agunimon said.

"You don't have to be such a big crybaby." Lobomon told him.

"He's sure losing a lot of water, is that normal?" Neemon asked.

"No idea." Bokomon replied.

"This is embarrassing, does he really think all that blubbering is going to help him?" J.P. asked before doubling over in pain.

"Hey, are you okay, J.P.?" Tommy asked.

"I'll be fine once I get this pain to go away." J.P. replied, still holding his stomach.

"A-a-an-and it's all my fault that you guys got hurt! I'm so sorry!" Whamon cried.

"You're forgiven, all right?" J.P. was obviously annoyed.

"Well, at least you have some company now. We're stuck here too. Maybe with your help we can figure out a way to escape." Zoe said, looking on the bright side.

"Huh? Okay!" Whamon stopped crying immediately. I smacked my forehead with my hand, so this is all it takes to make him stop crying? We should have Zoe talk more often. Whamon sunk down into the water, breathing heavily. "Whamon!" We all yelled. All the water disappeared, leaving Whamon at the bottom of the empty pool. Suddenly, Grumblemon burst out of the bottom of the pool, showing us the cause of the water being drained.

"Grumblemon!" We all yelled.

"No where hide now." Grumblemon chuckled. "Me so glad we see each other again, only this time me steal your spirits good!" His bad grammar was giving me a headache.

"You're an annoying little gnome, you know that?" Lobomon said.

"Yeah, what he said, oh, and by the way, you're not stealing anything from anyone ever again. We're not afraid of you anymore, Grumblemon!" Agunimon said.

"Na na na na nana, Grumblemon!" Grumblemon said. "You will be!" He pulled out a small bottle. "Look, look." He waved the bottle in front of his face, making a shiny powder come out. When it touched the ceiling, circles appeared. "You may think it Gigasmon spirit, but I have other powers. You no defeat me, earth spirit be mine. Me first to find you, so Mercurymon and others no will have you now, it too late for them. Meet my new friends." Grumblemon laughed as the circles on the ceiling became Golemon. Then, a giant Golemon rose from beneath him. "Get them!" Grumblemon ordered.

The Golemon rushed at us, "Let's turn these rocks into pebbles." Agunimon and Lobomon attacked the Golemon. "Pyro Tornado!" Agunimon became a tornado of flames. He destroyed four Golemon.

"Lobo Kendo!" Lobomon took out his blade and destroyed five Golemon.

"Nice job guys, keep it up!" I cheered. Suddenly, three Golemon started to come towards us. I stumbled backwards, still finding it hard to walk. Zoe and Tommy helped me up, helping me back up towards the wall.

"Excuse me gentlemen, we could use some assistance over here!" Bokomon called out.

"Be right there!" Agunimon told us.

"We're on the way." Lobomon said. Before they could come to our rescue, two hands on ropes reached out and grabbed them. I looked over to see that the hands came from Arbormon.

"Hey, let go!" J.P. shouted before running forward, only to grab his stomach in pain.

"No, you can't fight in this condition!" Zoe grabbed his arm.

"She's right, the best thing we can do now is hide!" Bokomon said before running to hide.

"Hey, good hiding, you're invisible." Neemon said.

"Over here, brainiac." Bokomon said.

"Wow, you're pretty fast too." Neemon commented.

"You meathead, the only reason I'm hiding is because I have to protect Seraphimon's egg!" Bokomon yelled at him.

"Mmhmm." Neemon looked at him suspiciously.

"I refuse to just hide and give up!" J.P. said.

"J.P., you're too badly hurt right now, Agunimon and Lobomon will think of something, we have to trust them." Tommy told him.

"Come on Zoe, think. If only I could spirit evolve." Zoe looked down at her D-Tector.

I put my hand on her shoulder, "You can't fight, but I can." I pulled out my D-Tector and prepared to use it.

"No, you're hurt even worse than J.P., there is no way that you can fight." Zoe tried to pull it out of my hands.

"I have to try, Agunimon and Lobomon can't hold out much longer, their fractal codes are outside their bodies right now, and I'm the only one with a beast spirit that can help them." I pulled my D-Tector out, "Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution!" I felt myself transforming into Gatowomon. "Gatowomon!"

I went over to help Agunimon and Lobomon; I couldn't let them get their spirits taken. "J.P., look out for Tommy and Zoe!" I called out to him as I ran.

"Kitty wants to play?" Arbormon looked down at me, "Fine, Power Pummel!" His foot came out on a rope, trying to kick me into the wall. I dodged it.

I jumped up to where he was standing, "Cat Claw!" My claws extended and I slashed the rope that was attached to the hand that held Lobomon.

Behind me, I heard J.P. yell, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" He turned into Beetlemon.

Tommy came next, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" Kumamon appeared.

I smiled; they were definitely trying to help. The distraction of my friends gave Arbormon his chance, "Blockade Seed!" He fired a small seed from his mouth, hitting me in the back and releasing vines that surrounded my body. I felt them tighten, and then I felt my energy being sucked away.

"No, I've got to get free!" My body was already tired from the earlier fight; I couldn't take much more of this. I struggled, but my energy was already gone.

Across the room, J.P. and Tommy were losing their fight as well. "Arbormon, take care them while me get spirit!" Grumblemon yelled.

"I'm on it Grumblemon, but first I've got to change, into something more comfortable." He released Lobomon and Agunimon. "Arbormon Slide Evolution! Petaldramon!" He became a giant log with a flower for a face. "Much better."

I was still losing energy, I could barely focus on the fact that Whamon had just spit out J.P.'s beast spirit. I closed my eyes for a second, and when I opened them I was looking at a blue and yellow tank with a cannon on its head, "MetalKabuterimon!" He charged up an attack, "Bolo Thunder!" He shot energy from both his arms that resembled a two-weight bola. Unfortunately, it hit the ceiling instead of Grumblemon. He continued attacking, hitting the ceiling many more times.

"He can't control it." I mumbled, glad that he hadn't aimed for the ceiling above me yet.

"Gatowomon, we have to head for cover!" Lobomon was next to me. "Lobo Kendo!" He used his sword to cut the vines from my body. He grabbed my arm and I followed him, dodging falling pieces of the ceiling. Grumblemon was backing up towards the one Golemon left. It looked like he was trying to reason with MetalKabuterimon, but all he succeeded in doing was making him realize that he was hitting the ceiling. It seems that J.P. finally got control of his beast spirit.

"Electron Cannon!" MetalKabuterimon yelled, shooting electricity out of the cannon on his head. It was a perfect hit, there was no way Grumblemon could have dodged it. "MetalKabuterimon, Slide Evolution! Beetlemon!" He walked towards Grumblemon, who had his fractal code showing. "Fractal code, digitize!" He scanned the fractal code with his D-Tector, taking Grumblemon's spirit and releasing Kazemon's spirit.

Lobomon, Agunimon and I all changed back into our human forms. I looked up at the ceiling, "Guys, we have to get out of here." The ceiling was crumbling; it was going to crash down on us any second. I started to run, dragging them along with me, until they finally got the message.

"Run!" Takuya yelled to the others, but they seemed caught up in the moment. "Run! Didn't you hear me? Run!" They finally looked up at us, just as water started crashing down from the ceiling. It flooded the room, and I was plunged into darkness. I could still breathe, and I wasn't covered by water anymore.

"Did we die?" I heard Tommy ask.

"Uh, I don't think so." Zoe replied.

"Smells like something did, phew." J.P. commented.

"Ew, thanks for mentioning that." I said, noticing the smell for the first time. Suddenly, I could see light coming in from between what looked like teeth. Are we inside of something? The teeth opened to reveal water.

"It's the ocean." Tommy said. "It's Whamon!" We all exclaimed at once.

"I don't know how you saved us, but thank you." Bokomon said. I noticed that everyone had made it out of the cave inside of Whamon, I sighed in relief.

"Yeah, and welcome home, Whamon." Zoe said.

"Oh, I'm the one that should be thanking you, without your help, I might have been stuck in that cave forever. Hold on everybody, we should be reaching the island very soon." Whamon informed us.

"Island?" Takuya asked. We all looked out across the ocean, trying to catch a glimpse.

I felt someone come up behind me and wrap their arms around my waist. "I was afraid for a second there that I had lost you." Koji whispered into my ear. I leaned back into his embrace, careful not to let my back touch his chest.

"You can't get rid of me that easily. I'm just glad that everyone is okay." I relaxed in his arms, enjoying the time we had together before our inevitable next battle.

**A/N: Finally, no more Grumblemon! I was really getting tired of the way he talks. Please review! :)**


	13. Beastie Girl

**A/N: Wow, this is a really long chapter! Thanks to Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 for reviewing my last chapter. If I say anything else, I'll give something away, so on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 13<br>Beastie Girl**

As we looked out across the ocean, I was finally able to get a glance at the island that we were going to. "I see it! Look over there!" I pointed it out to the others. They looked up in excitement, glad that we would soon be leaving the inside of Whamon's mouth.

Ten minutes later, we climbed out of Whamon's mouth and onto some rocks. We all waved goodbye to Whamon as he swam away. I looked around at the island, there were palm trees growing everywhere. It looked like the perfect island paradise, minus the resort and tourists.

"Well, there he goes." Koji was still watching Whamon swim away.

"Nice of you to point out the obvious." Takuya said.

"Don't be such boys!" Zoe said, smiling as she climbed up the rocks. I raised my eyebrows at her enthusiasm.

"My dear Zoe, what has gotten into you?" Bokomon asked.

"You can't blame a girl for feeling good on such a beautiful day, especially a girl who has her spirit back." Zoe said, holding her D-Tector in the air.

"And let us not forget who has a beast spirit now!" J.P. added.

"Let's hear it for J.P., the Princely beast of thunder!" Zoe rolled the r in princely.

"And Zoe, Princess of the summer breeze!" J.P. added. I widened my eyes, it was official, they were crazy.

"And Takuya, King of I'm going to be sick!" Takuya added.

"Yeah, I don't even know how to respond to that, but I can tell you one thing, I never want to hear you guys talk like that ever again." I started to climb the rocks.

"Hey, don't you think you should give your back more time to heal? I don't want you to push yourself too hard." Koji came up behind me, trying to help me up the rocks.

"I'm fine, I can climb a few rocks, and it's not going to kill me Koji." I wasn't lying; my back didn't hurt at all. Besides, I was done slowing everyone down. I wanted to be strong like everyone else. I quickly climbed up the rocks before Koji could protest. "See, I'm all better. My back just needed a little rest, that's all."

Once everyone was over the rocks, we started walking along a path next to the water. "You know, I can't help but notice that it's summer, and we're at a beach." J.P. pointed out after a few moments of silence.

Zoe laughed, "I noticed that."

"Yeah, you know what that means." Tommy started.

"Summer vacation!" We all shouted except for Koji, who just rolled his eyes at my excitement.

"The waves!" Tommy said, striking a pose.

"Shell hunting." Zoe had picked up a starfish…not exactly a shell, but close enough.

"Lots of sunshine!" J.P. said.

"Summer romance." I waggled my eyebrows as I whispered in Koji's ear. He smirked at me, but rolled his eyes.

"Put it all together and what do you get? The beach, baby!" Takuya finished.

Koji tried to reason with us, "Takuya, aren't you forgetting something? We're supposed to be on a mission here. We'd be stupid to let our guard down." He directed this last part at me, raising his eyebrows. I responded by sticking my tongue out and looking away.

Takuya elbowed Koji's side, "Come on, you've got to lighten up, buddy." Koji was starting to laugh.

"Yeah, stop being a party pooper." J.P. poked Koji's other side. Koji was really breaking down now, he was really ticklish.

"Wait, wait don't, I'm not guys, I just think that…" Koji never got to finish his sentence, he was too busy laughing.

"Yes you are, you're being pooie." Tommy said, pouting.

"Stop it!" Koji looked up at Tommy, a guilty expression on his face.

"It can't hurt to take a break, we've earned it." Zoe told him.

"Yeah, you did say that you wanted me to rest my back." I pointed out, smirking at him.

"I thought it was all better." He raised his eyebrows at me.

"It is, but it never hurts to rest." I winked at him.

"Fine, whatever, I'm obviously outnumbered here." Koji gave in.

I cheered and hugged him, "Thanks Koko!" He rolled his eyes, but hugged me back.

"Oh!" Neemon said suddenly.

"Oh indeed, look!" Bokomon pointed down towards the beach where a beach house was. We rushed down and stood right outside the open doorway.

"What's summer vacation without a beach house?" Zoe asked.

"This is a little too convenient." Koji looked at the beach house suspiciously.

"I don't know about that, but it sure looks awfully comfortable." Tommy said, looking inside with longing.

"Welcome!" Four birds that looked like toucans in pants and shoes came out of the beach house.

"Oh goody, it's the Toucanmon." Bokomon informed us, using sarcasm.

"Honored guests, we welcome you to Toucan Paradise." The Toucanmon in the front said.

"Thank you Mr. Toucanmon, we're honored you're honored." Tommy told him.

"Yeah, we're honored, but we're broke." Koji pointed out.

"Oh please, what's a few digi sheckles a month among friends? And it just so happens that today, everything is on the house. By which I mean free, not served on the roof." The Toucanmon on the far right spoke.

"We know what it means." Bokomon informed them.

"Sorry, sorry it was just a small joke, very small." The Toucanmon in the chef's hat said.

"It's okay." Tommy told them.

"No, no, no we are humiliated. There is absolutely nothing we wouldn't do to make it up to you." The last Toucanmon said.

"Oh wow, really?" J.P. asked, looking excited.

"Really, really, really, double really." They replied together. "Come inside, and we'll serve you some lunch."

"Oh, boy!" J.P. shouted before entering the beach house with Takuya, Zoe and Tommy right behind him.

"This still looks suspicious." Koji said.

I grabbed his hand, "Come on, let's just have fun for a while. When do we ever get a chance to do normal things around here?" I pulled him inside and sat him down at the table where everyone else was.

The Toucanmon came out of the kitchen, each carrying plates of food. "A little of this, a smidge of that, and ladies and gentlemen, your lunch is served." The table was filled with every food imaginable. In front of me, was a plate with Fettuccine Alfredo.

"Let's dig in!" Takuya said before proceeding to do just that.

"Yeah, where do we start? Delicious!" We all exclaimed after taking our first bite. I eagerly took another bite of my pasta. It was amazing; the noodles were cooked just right, not too hard and not too soft. There was also a perfect amount of sauce, not too much and not too little.

"Oh man, I am so enjoying these overcooked ramen noodles with rubbery egg!" Takuya stated before taking another bite. I gave him a confused look.

"This is the best lumpy curry I've ever had!" Zoe said, confusing me even more.

"You're weird, is that supposed to be a compliment?" Koji asked her. Finally, somebody else noticed.

"Dude, don't you get it? It's real food, like home, not some kind of crazy meat tasting rabbit food." J.P. explained.

"Every bit of it looks exactly like what it is, lumps and all. Besides, it's a beach house buddy, the food could have sand and bugs and stuff all over it and nobody would care." Takuya said.

"Bring on the bugs!" Zoe and J.P. said together.

"And sand!" Neemon joined in.

"And stuff, bring on the stuff!" Even Bokomon, our voice of reason, had lost it.

"Okay, you guys are officially crazy. I wouldn't be happy if there were bugs or sand in my food." I told them.

They all looked at me, and then Zoe smirked, "Well of course not, you're the Princess. I bet that if I put a pea under your seat, that you would feel it." Everyone started to laugh and I rolled my eyes.

"Good to see that you're back to your old self, Zoe." I said before taking another bite of my pasta. She smiled slightly and then started eating her food. We didn't say another word; we just ate our food in silence. The boys looked back and forth between us, trying to figure out what was going on, but when they couldn't figure it out, they just started eating their own food.

Once I was finished, I was so full I felt like I was going to explode. I leaned back in my chair, "Well, that was filling." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"You ate a lot." Neemon said, directing his comment at Bokomon. There were three empty bowls in front of him.

"Well, I'm eating for two now. My selfish days are over, if I must pig out, so be it." Bokomon was rubbing the egg the entire time. Does he really think that he's a mother?

"It was wonderful." We all said to the Toucanmon.

"Don't mention it, it was our pleasure." They replied.

"My tummy feels like a melon." Takuya said, rubbing his stomach.

"Tommy, did you get enough?" Zoe asked him.

"Yes." He replied.

"Enough and more!" J.P. said.

"Well, I guess it's time to split." Takuya said, standing up. The Toucanmon looked at him in shock.

"We've imposed on you enough." Zoe told them.

"Go ahead, impose." One said.

"Come on, we're begging you here!" Another added.

Takuya gave them a confused look, "Thanks but, we're stuffed as ticks."

"But you're growing kids and it won't be long before you're hungry again. What kind of folks would we be if we let you leave without supper?" These birds really didn't want us to leave.

"Supper? Are you nuts? I won't be hungry for hours. I might never eat again." Takuya informed them.

"You say that now, but after being in the sun I'm sure you will agree with me, and might I suggest you take advantage of our super value summer special." The Toucanmon sure were persistent. My eyes followed him across the room until he opened a curtain, revealing everything you would ever need for a trip to the beach.

"What he's saying, is free beach rentals for everybody!" Another Toucanmon told us.

We all rushed over, taking a look at all the different things. There were so many bathing suits; I couldn't decide which one to wear. "Complimentary baskets are available for your valuables, so just go out and have a good time; you leave the worrying to us." A Toucanmon told us.

Zoe loaded a clothes rack with bathing suits and proceeded to wheel it towards the girls changing room. The boys each took one bathing suit and followed after her. I was about to follow, when I remembered how hard the Toucanmon had worked to make us stay here. I quickly jogged out, grabbing Koji's hand to stop him. He looked at me in surprise, "What is it, Jade? Aren't you going to the changing room?"

I shook my head, "I'd like to have a word with you, alone." I pulled him towards the trees. He followed, but still looked at me in confusion. Once we were far enough into the trees that I thought nobody could hear us, I stopped.

"Alright, what did you want to talk to me about?" Koji asked, leaning against a tree, but he still had his hand clasped in mine.

"Did you not notice how we were not allowed to leave?" I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Not allowed, what are you talking about?" Koji tilted his head to the side, something he does whenever he is confused. He looked so cute when he did it that I almost wanted to forget about my suspicions and spend the time kissing him. I shook my head, now was not the time for that.

"The Toucanmon, they were practically begging us to stay. Don't you think that's a little strange?" I asked him.

He shrugged, "Maybe they get lonely out here. It must be a real treat seeing someone as beautiful as you here." He smiled at me when I blushed. I looked into his eyes, a quick kiss couldn't hurt. I leaned in, and our lips were just about to touch when I remembered why I had really brought him out here.

I quickly dropped his hand, backed away, and frowned at him, "Stop distracting me. I thought you were the suspicious one, what happened to that?"

He sighed, "You're the one who told me to enjoy myself, didn't you? We can keep an eye out, but I really doubt that those bird brains could do anything to harm us." I sighed, he was probably right, but did I really want to take the chance that he was wrong? I bit my lip and looked at the ground, my usually pose for when I was thinking. Koji's hand grabbed my chin and brought my face up to look at his, "Hey, everything will be okay, okay?"

I sighed, but then smiled, "Okay."

He smiled then moved closer, his lips a mere inch away from mine. He looked into my eyes and raised his eyebrows, asking for permission. As answer, I closed my eyes and pressed my lips against his. I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing him closer. His hands moved too, one went into my hair, keeping my face against his, and the other went to the small of my back, pulling me closer to him. I jumped when his hand touched bare skin from where my shirt was riding up, but I was relaxed by his touch. I soon ran out of breath. I turned my head slightly, just enough so that I could breathe. Koji took this time to leave a trail of kisses along the edge of my jaw. Each kiss left me feeling warm inside. He pulled back, taking a moment to look at me. His eyes were bright, filled with more warmth than I had ever seen. He appeared to be thinking something over. I could tell when he made his decision because he smiled slightly. He came in for another kiss, this time hesitant, like he didn't want to scare me away. His lips pressed softly against mine before he parted his lips slightly. His tongue snaked out, touching my bottom lip, asking for permission. I let him in, his tongue explored my mouth.

"Koji, Jade, where did you guys go?" We were startled by the sounds of shouting coming from the beach house. I jumped away, blushing. Koji chuckled and clasped his hand in my own before he started walking back to the others.

"We're right here." Koji said as we stepped out of the trees.

"What were you guys doing?" Takuya looked at me, but his question was soon answered by my blushing face. "Oh, well we just wanted to make sure nothing had happened, we're going to go swim now, bye." Takuya walked towards the water, dragging Tommy and J.P., who still looked confused, with him.

Koji winked at me before going into the guys changing room. I sighed and walked into the girls changing room. Zoe was standing with her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face. "So, what _were _you guys doing?"

I blushed, "Nothing." I quickly took one of the baskets and began to place my clothes in it; soon I was only wearing my tank top over my bra and underwear. "Hey Zoe, do you want to check on my back? I just want to make sure that it has stopped bleeding."

She smiled, "Sure, if you tell me what you and Koji were doing."

I sighed; I should have expected something like this. "Fine, we were kissing. Now will you please check on my back?"

She smiled, "Of course, what are friends for?" I rolled my eyes before taking off my tank top. She quickly untied the cloth and took a look at my wound. "It doesn't look bad, it stopped bleeding and it is scabbed over. It shouldn't take too long for it to heal. You won't need this cloth anymore." She told me, discarding the cloth into an empty basket.

"How bad is the scab? Is it really big?" I asked her, not wanting to wear a bikini if the scab was huge.

"It's really small; you can barely tell it's there. The only way you can see it is if you are looking for it." She informed me.

"Thanks, Z." I said before walking over to the clothing rack. I picked out a purple leopard print bikini and quickly put it on. "Well, what do you think?" I asked Zoe.

"Wow, that is definitely your style, it looks great on you." She told me, smiling.

I smiled and started to head for the door. "Wait, are you going to leave your hair down, and with that crown in it?" Zoe stopped me from leaving.

I ran my fingers through my hair; it was still messy from Koji grabbing it. "I guess not, I should probably do something about it." I sighed; long hair was so annoying sometimes.

"I'll braid it for you if you want." Zoe offered.

"Thanks that would be great." Zoe sat down and patted the ground in front of her. I sat and took the tiara off my head, placing it in my basket of clothes. Zoe pulled a brush out of a different basket and started running it through my hair. I have to admit, it felt good to have someone else do my hair.

"This reminds me of back home, my sister used to always do my hair. I'm hopeless when it comes to hair. I can do three things, keep it down, put it in a ponytail, or straighten it. I don't like straightening it though; it makes my hair look flat." I don't know why I was telling her this, it just sort of came out.

"That sounds nice, having someone there to do your hair when you can't." Zoe said as she began parting my hair.

"Yeah, I guess I never really appreciated it until I came here." I thought about it, my sister had always done my hair; it was just something that I came to expect over the years.

"So, back to you and Koji, what's the story? Is he your boyfriend or what?" Zoe asked as she began twisting my hair into a braid.

I sighed, "I don't know, we haven't really talked about it."

"What? You haven't talked about it? What do you guys do, just kiss each other the whole time?" Zoe questioned.

"No, we talk, just not about that. I hadn't even thought of it until you brought it up. I don't really think that it matters, it just feels nice to be with him, you know?" I smiled just thinking about spending time with Koji.

Zoe finally finished, putting an elastic around the end of the braid, "I guess I understand, I just don't want you to get hurt."

I stood up and Zoe quickly followed my lead. I smiled and hugged her, "Thanks for caring; it's nice to know that I have a friend that I can talk to about this stuff." I pulled away and she smiled back at me.

"Go on, Koji's probably waiting for you out there, and I still haven't decided which bathing suit to wear." Zoe shooed me out the door.

I stepped outside into the bright sunlight and smiled, it was a beautiful day to go swimming. I walked towards the water, seeing the boys all swimming. Neemon was buried in the sand, and Bokomon was lounging on a chair under an umbrella. I dipped my foot in the water; it was nice and cool against the hot air. I looked up and noticed that all the boys with the exception of Tommy were looking at me. "What?" I asked.

They continued to stare at me, and I was growing uncomfortable. I looked at Koji and raised my eyebrows at him. He blinked, blushing and looked away to see that the others were staring at me too. He narrowed his eyes and splashed them both with water, causing them to stop staring at me. I folded my arms and tapped my foot, glaring at them. "What?" Koji asked.

"I'm still waiting for an answer. Why were you guys staring at me?" I glared at Takuya, making him blush and look away. I did the same with J.P., and he had the same reaction. When I tried the same thing on Koji, he just smirked at me.

"You want to know why I was staring at you?" He asked me. I nodded. "I was staring because you are gorgeous." I blushed and rolled my eyes.

"So, why were they looking at me?" I gestured towards J.P. and Takuya, who still wouldn't look at me.

He frowned, "Probably the same reason as me." He took the time to glare at them.

I raised my eyebrows at him, this was the perfect time to bring up what Zoe and I had talked about. "Why are you glaring at them? You can look at me, but they can't?"

Koji looked at me in shock, "Well, Um…" It seems that he doesn't know what to say.

"I had no idea that you owned me, maybe you should let me know next time." I smirked at his confused expression and waded into the water until I was swimming. I felt my body relax in the water. I arched my back and kicked my feet up, causing my body to float on the water. I felt my body sway back and forth as the waves passed. I sighed; this was where I felt most comfortable, in the water. I wasn't a swimmer, although many people thought I should be with my long arms and legs. I think that if I swam for competition that I would just feel the need to do laps every time I got in the water. The experience would be lost to training for the next meet.

I was startled by a hand touching my shoulder. I looked up to see Koji beside me, trying to talk to me. I hadn't heard him thanks to the water in my ears. "What?" I asked him as I stood up straight.

"Can I talk to you for a moment, alone?" Koji's eyes were serious. I nodded and we got out of the water, grabbing towels from the pile. I put mine around my shoulders, only wanting to keep my hair from dripping on my back. Koji quickly dried off then set the towel on the ground. He started walking along the beach, waiting until we couldn't hear the others talking. He stopped, not turning to face me, just stopping.

"Koji?" I reached out my hand to touch his shoulder. He shrugged it off, but turned to look at me, his eyes full of confusion and hurt.

"What did I do wrong? Everything seemed fine earlier, but then when Takuya and J.P. were staring at you, you got mad at me. Please enlighten me, because I didn't know that it was a crime to stand up for the girl I liked." The confusion was gone; anger in its place, but the hurt was still there.

I sighed, what had gotten into me? "I don't know, I thought that everything was fine, but one thought kept nagging at the back of my head. It was something that Zoe mentioned while she was braiding my hair. She asked if you were my boyfriend. I replied that you weren't and it has been bugging me ever since. When you got mad at the other guys, I thought you were a hypocrite. You had been staring just as much as they had, and since you aren't my boyfriend, you have no more claim to me than the others." I looked away, the words sounded ridiculous now that I said them out loud, but I couldn't take them back, I had already gone too far for that.

"Do you really think that? That I am just like them? I am just another boy to you?" Koji was losing his anger, the hurt completely taking over.

"No, you are much more to me than that, but you never made it clear. I want to be with you, but if you don't want a relationship, just kissing, then it's not worth it." I turned away, tears rolling down my cheeks. I didn't want him to see me cry.

"Jade, I-" Koji was interrupted by the sound of screaming, Zoe screaming. I didn't think, I just took off running down the beach towards the dressing rooms. Takuya, J.P., and Tommy were all running out of the water, rushing to save Zoe. They made it to the dressing room before me.

"Zoe, what's wrong, are you okay?" I heard them ask.

Zoe screamed again, "Get out, get out, get out!" Takuya and J.P. came out, covered in bruises from what Zoe had thrown at them. Tommy was the only smart one, he was waiting outside the whole time. I shook my head and walked into the dressing room.

"Zoe, are you okay? What happened?" Zoe was covering her body with a lavender swimsuit, and this was obviously how the boys had found her. I handed her the basket that held her clothes. "I'll wait outside, you can tell us all together." I walked outside, seeing that Koji had joined the others and they had just finished telling him what happened. We sat in silence as we waited for Zoe.

She finally walked out in her normal clothes. "Guys, I am so sorry." She said, looking at J.P. and Takuya.

"Now that we're all together, why did you scream before?" I asked her.

"Because someone's a peeping tom." Zoe had her hands on her hips.

"You're kidding!" Takuya looked at her in shock.

"Let me at the creep, how dare he!" J.P. exclaimed, causing us all to look at him. Well, he was the most likely one to do it. He did have a major crush on Zoe. "What are you all looking at me for?"

"You must admit, it looks suspicious, after all you are the most likely culprit." Bokomon said. Neemon nodded in agreement.

"He makes a good point, J.P., why don't you just admit it?" Takuya said, putting his hand on J.P.'s shoulder.

"Because I just didn't do it, that's why!" J.P. exclaimed.

"Come on guys, it couldn't have been J.P., he was swimming with us the whole time, remember?" Tommy stepped forward to stop the fighting.

"I forgot." Takuya and J.P. both said.

"We all had the same alibi." Koji said.

"Then by the process of elimination it was no one?" Bokomon asked.

"Are you calling Zoe a liar?" J.P. asked him.

"No of course not, J.P., it's obvious we're not alone here." Takuya stated.

"The Toucanmon!" I exclaimed. Everyone looked at me in confusion. "The Toucanmon are here." Their eyes widened in understanding. We rushed towards the beach house. When we got there, nobody was inside. It was completely empty of people.

"Where'd they all go?" Tommy asked.

"Now this is suspicious." Takuya commented.

"Oh, no!" Koji yelled, running out the door. We followed him to the dressing rooms. Inside, he started searching through his basket full of clothes. "The bird boys tricked us!"

"Oh man, my D-Tector's gone." J.P. said as he searched through his clothes.

"Oh man, mine's gone too. This is awful." Takuya said after dumping his clothes out on the floor.

"This goes well beyond awful young man, how could you let those Toucanmon trick you like that?" Bokomon said.

"Stop it, they fooled all of us." Koji told him.

"That's right!" Takuya and J.P. said together before starting to take their swimsuits off. I screamed a little, before turning around and getting out of there.

"Well, I'd better change, and check to see if my D-Tector is still there." Zoe nodded and followed me to the dressing room. I quickly searched my basket. "Oh, no." I whispered in shock.

"What? What's the matter, Jade?" Zoe asked me.

My eyes were filling with tears, "They didn't only take my D-Tector, they also took my tiara."

Zoe gasped, "That's horrible!" She put her hand on my shoulder, "We'll get it back, I promise." I nodded and started to get dressed. "So, I know this isn't the best time, but what's up with you and Koji? You won't even look at him. Did you guys get in a fight?"

"Yeah, but it was all my fault." I told her what happened after I left the dressing room, up until when she screamed and we all came running. "So, it was really just my fault. I just had to push him, and not in a very nice way, either. It's funny, every boyfriend I've ever had has let me take charge. They never got angry when I pushed them, because I wore the pants in the relationship. It's different with Koji; he likes to be in charge. I kind of like it. I don't like the fact that the other guys just let me push them around. I want someone who will take care of me, not someone who will hide behind me in the face of danger."

Zoe nodded, taking all this in. "Did anything ever happen in your previous relationships? Anything that made you not trust guys anymore?"

I looked away and nodded, "There was one boy, Tony. He was a friend of mine, and he was always making me laugh. He wasn't very good looking, but he was so nice. He actually looks like J.P., now that I think of it, except his hair is blonde. He asked me to be his girlfriend one day, and since I loved his personality, I thought that it would be great to be his girlfriend, I said yes. That's when it started, he stopped being the sweet boy who made me laugh, and became the guy who couldn't keep his hands off of me. It started in Drama class, he would run his fingers up my arm. I didn't really mind, it felt nice, but then it got worse. We went to see Macbeth together and he started to run his hands up my legs. It made me feel really uncomfortable, having him touch me like that, especially when I was trying to concentrate on the play. He started doing it more and more often, it drove me crazy. He never tried to kiss me, thank goodness, but one night we were texting each other while doing our homework. He asked me a strange question, hey, do you think our relationship is going anywhere, because if not, I think that we should break up. I was shocked, I didn't know what to say so I said, um…what? He replied, if you don't think that our relationship is going to progress within a week, then I think that we should break up. I said, I don't think that you see things the same way as I do, I see most things as emotional, but all you seem to think about is physical. He replied with, oh, then we should definitely break up. I said, fine. To me, that was the end of our conversation, I didn't need him, all he wanted me for was my body. A few hours later, I got a new text message from him. He asked me if he could ask out one of my best friends. I didn't respond, I just cried knowing that he had gotten over me so fast. I felt so unwanted at that moment, and I didn't want to ever feel that way again."

"Wow, that's horrible. I can see why you don't let people in." Zoe said.

"I'm ready to go now, we should probably go if we ever hope to catch them." I said as I walked out the door. Zoe nodded and followed me. When we got outside, the boys were standing there waiting.

"What took you guys so long? In case you've forgotten, the Toucanmon stole our D-Tectors." Takuya said.

"Leave us alone! It's none of your business what we were doing." Zoe replied.

"I'll tell you what's my business-" Takuya started, but I cut him off.

"We don't have time to argue, let's just get going before the Toucanmon get too far ahead of us." I said. Everyone nodded and started running down the beach. We found footprints that looked like they belonged to a bird and we followed them.

We soon heard the Toucanmon talking amongst themselves. "We've finally proved ourselves worthy of the ravishing Ranamon."

"Oh, Ranamon the ravishing!" They said together.

"All right, hold it right there, you thieves. Just what do you mean by Ranamon the ravishing? Huh?" Takuya questioned them.

"Give our D-Tectors back to us, right now!" Koji demanded.

"And don't forget my tiara!" I added, making everyone look at me in surprise.

"No way, no how. These little babies are our ticket to a date with Ranamon." One said.

"Take it from me, you guys are delusional, now give them back!" J.P. said.

"You can't make us, now scram!" One said.

"Um, maybe we should scram." Another suggested.

"Scramming!" They said together as they started to run away.

"Wait, come back here!" Tommy yelled as we chased after them.

"This is so dumb!" Takuya commented. Bursts of water started coming from the ocean. "That doesn't look good." Suddenly, Ranamon came from beneath the waves, surrounded by pillars of water.

"Oh dear, it's Ranamon!" Bokomon shouted.

Ranamon waved at us, "Hi, y'all."

Bokomon looked in his book, "She's the warrior of water, and very evil."

"Well of course she is." Takuya replied.

"She sure has lousy timing." Koji commented.

"What a pleasant surprise, I have so looked forward to seeing y'all again. I'd hoped to have my beast spirit to show you first, but everything happens for a reason. We can't have everything. Just be good little children and hand over your spirits. I'd love to stay and chat, but frankly you'd bore me to tears. Now, how's that sound?" Ranamon's accent was really getting on my nerves, and Zoe looked just as aggravated as me.

"Sounds stupid to me." Zoe told her.

"But we don't have our D-Tectors." Koji said.

"I'll handle her." Zoe told him.

"Zoe." J.P. tried to argue.

"Don't worry, J.P., I'll take care of her in no time." Zoe said.

"Goody, goody this is going to be a treat." Ranamon said. The pillars of water around her turned into cyclones, throwing water everywhere.

"Oh man, this is supposed to be a vacation!" Tommy complained.

"This is very, very bad. As long as she's near water her powers exponentially enhance." Bokomon informed us.

"Is that a bad thing?" Neemon asked.

"I just said that. Didn't I just say that?" Bokomon asked.

"I don't know." Neemon replied.

"Water woman sure has a nasty temper." Zoe commented.

"Zoe, you can't!" J.P. said.

"Look, I haven't been able to spirit evolve, so I need to make up for lost time." Zoe said.

"Oh, goody, goody." Neemon said.

"Guys, just believe in her, I'm sure she can do it!" I told them. Zoe nodded at me then smiled.

"I've never felt this helpless before." J.P. said.

"Just leave it to me. Execute, Spirit Evolution!" Zoe said, turning into Kazemon.

"Sugar, do you really think that you can take me on alone?" Ranamon asked.

"That's a silly question, of course I do, Sugar." Kazemon mocked.

"So now you're going to mock me?" Ranamon asked.

"I wouldn't dream of it, I'd rather fight!" Kazemon said, going in for a punch. Before she could even get close to Ranamon, water shot up, blocking her attack. Kazemon started to fly away, but the water followed her.

"Don't you want to play with me anymore?" Ranamon asked as the pillar of water that was following Kazemon split into two. The water followed her until she made it run into a cliff. "Whippin' Waves!" Ranamon shouted, creating two more swirling pillars of water.

"Hurricane Wave!" Kazemon shouted, using the tornadoes coming from her hands to break the columns of water apart.

"Well, you're actually pretty good at this." Ranamon told her.

"Oh Ranamon, that means so _little_ coming from you!" Kazemon said.

"You little brat! I'm going to take you apart, wing by wing." Ranamon said, creating five columns of water surrounding Kazemon. "Feeling a little more polite?" Ranamon gasped, "What's that calling to me? Could it be? Out of my way, brat!" Ranamon said as she dove underwater.

"Oh great, what's she up to now?" Kazemon asked. That reminded me of something.

"The Toucanmon! I totally forgot! I'm going to go look for them, you guys stay here to support Zoe!" I said as I started running down the beach, following the tracks of those bird brains. "They couldn't have gotten too far." I said to myself. I finally caught sight of them, on the edge of a cliff. Their faces were filled with disgust, looking down at the beach.

"I think I'm going to be too busy for the Ranamon fan club from now on." One said.

"Yeah, me too." Another agreed.

"Me three." They were dropping buttons and hats on the ground.

"And to think, we almost had to go on a date with her." The last one said as they started walking away. I was about to stop them, when I caught sight of one of the most ugly things I had ever seen. It looked like a giant squid with a woman's upper body coming out of it.

I heard a little bit of what she was saying, "I'm so sorry, sugar pie. Are you not enjoying our little dance? Maybe I should turn up the music." She had an accent kind of like Ranamon's. I cringed, maybe this was her beast spirit.

"It's just so ugly!" I shuddered and looked away, finally remembering the Toucanmon. "Great, lost them again!" I started to jog along the tracks. "I have to find them, Koji and the others are counting on me!" I sped up to a run and finally spotted them. They were talking at the edge of a cliff.

"So what should we do with these?" One of the Toucanmon was saying, looking at our D-Tectors and my tiara, which were sitting in a pile on the ground. I gritted my teeth, that was no way to treat something as valuable as that.

"You can give them to me." I said. They jumped up, startled.

"No way! How did you find us?" They asked. I pointed to their tracks in the sand.

"New plan, we sell these things, come on guys!" One Toucanmon grabbed our stuff and jumped off the cliff, flying towards an island in the distance.

"Good idea!" The others said, quickly following after.

"No!" I tried to reach out and grab the last Toucanmon, but only succeeded in losing my balance. Great, now I'm going to fall to my death all because of those stupid bird brains.

"Are you crazy?" I heard someone ask as they grabbed my arm, keeping me from falling off the edge. I looked over my shoulder to see that it was Koji who held my arm. He pulled me into a warm embrace, "Don't ever scare me like that again. I was so afraid that I was going to lose you."

It felt so good to be hugging Koji again, but I knew I had to pull away. I took a step back from him, careful to stay away from the edge. I turned away, looking across the ocean. "Why does it matter if you lose me? I'm useless! I couldn't even get the D-Tectors back from those stupid bird brains!" Tears were rolling down my cheeks as I yelled out across the ocean. "I can't do anything right." I whispered.

"Jade," He swallowed, "Um, what I was going to say to you before, you know, before Zoe screamed, well, I was going to say that I really care about you, and I don't want anything to happen to you. I want to protect you, make sure that you never get hurt. I want to be there for you when you are feeling down. But mostly, I just want you to be happy. I want to be the one to make you happy. Jade, will you be my girlfriend?"

I gasped, he wants me to be his girlfriend? "Why would you want me? I'm selfish, vain and emotionally damaged. You deserve someone better, someone who looks good next to you, someone who nobody would question why you were with her, you were just meant to be."

Koji grabbed my chin and turned my head to face him, "I know exactly what you're talking about, someone who understands me, someone who will always be there for me, someone who cares enough that they think they aren't good enough for me. The perfect girl for me is you. Whenever I'm with you, I wonder why someone as amazing as you would want to spend your time with me. You have everything backwards, I don't think I'll ever be good enough for you, but I can try."

The tears were coming faster now, dripping onto Koji's hand. "Koji, I would love to be your girlfriend." He smiled and brought his lips down on mine. The kiss lasted only a second, but it was just as sweet as all our other kisses. "Hey, Koji?"

"Yes, Princess?" He asked me and I rolled my eyes at the nickname.

"If you promise not to think that I'm too good for you, then I'll promise not to think that you're too good for me." I said.

"Alright, I promise." He said, smiling at our agreement.

"I promise too, we are both equals." I smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Well, we should probably get back to the others and tell them the bad news." I said, grabbing his hand. He nodded and we headed back towards the others.

We finally came into view of the beach house, and we saw that everyone was sitting, obviously taking a break. Zoe was talking to J.P., who seemed to be in a daze.

"J.P., weren't you thinking about your D-Tector?" I heard Zoe ask when J.P. finally snapped out of it.

"Oh, uh, well, I was wondering if you'd be like that." J.P. explained.

"Huh? Be like what?" Zoe asked.

"Like Calmaramon." J.P. replied.

"Huh, Calmaramon? Where?" Takuya sat up quickly.

"I was just wondering if you'd be scary like that, you know, when you got your beast spirit and all that." J.P. explained. The boys all seemed to be imagining something, even Koji.

"Who's Calmaramon?" I whispered to Koji.

Before he could answer, Zoe interrupted their visions, "Stop that! I can't believe you guys would think something like that! I'm nothing like her."

"Of course…" Neemon said.

"Hey! Say that like you mean it!" Zoe yelled at him. She pulled on his pants, snapping them against his waist.

"He's not saying you're evil or anything, just that beast spirits are hard to control." Takuya said.

"Yes, remember what happened with Takuya?" Bokomon asked.

"I'll always be a cool and beautiful girl digimon, that I know." Zoe said confidently.

"But, how?" Tommy asked.

"Because I'm a girl, and girls know how to handle power, when they need to." Zoe exclaimed. I narrowed my eyes and my free hand became a fist while my other hand squeezed Koji's, hard.

"So, are you saying that I'm not a girl?" I asked her.

She gasped and turned around, "Oh Jade, I didn't know you were back there. Of course I think that you're a girl, you just weren't expecting the beast spirit to be hard to control." She tried to wave it off.

"Actually, I knew that it would be hard to control. I was informed ahead of time that I would be facing one of the hardest challenges I would ever face." I glared at her.

"Wow, girls are scary when they're angry." Tommy whispered to J.P., who nodded in agreement.

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever, it's not worth it to fight you when we have more important things to worry about."

"Oh, by the way, Calmaramon is a giant squid monster that is Ranamon's beast spirit." Koji explained to me.

"Oh, that really ugly thing I saw earlier? That makes sense." I said.

"So, did you bring our D-Tectors back?" Takuya asked me.

"No, the Toucanmon got away. They flew towards that island over there." I pointed to the island across the water.

"Then we can't let them get away, we can swim over!" Takuya said as he raced out into the water.

"I'll race you there." Zoe told him.

"Tommy, you guys wait here." Takuya ordered before tripping into the water.

"Takuya?" Zoe asked.

Takuya came up from the water, looking down at his feet. Suddenly, a little seal-like digimon with an orange Mohawk came out of the water. "What the heck is that?" Takuya asked.

"That's Gomamon." The digimon replied.

"Well, whoever you are, let go of my foot, okay?" Takuya said, kicking his foot out of the water.

"Sorry, but we had to stop you guys." Gomamon said.

"Hi." "Hi." "Hi." "Hi." "Hi." They just kept on popping out of the water, each saying the same thing.

"Yeah, hi. What are these things anyway?" Takuya asked Bokomon.

"Gomamon are cute and curious, but if you get them mad, they won't hesitate to attack. But, then again, what does around here?" Bokomon explained.

"How cute!" Zoe said, picking one up and squeezing it like it was a stuffed animal.

"Yeah, girls are tough." J.P. commented.

"You bet they are, and you better shut your mouth, before you find out just how tough." I told him.

He swallowed, "Shutting."

"So, why did you stop Takuya and Zoe from going over there?" I asked the Gomamon.

"We wouldn't be very good friends if we let you go out there. The water looks so cuddly and inviting, but really it's very dangerous." The Gomamon that tripped Takuya said.

"Um, what do you mean by dangerous, exactly?" Takuya asked.

"Just look, all that foam by the island is caused by a whole bunch of whirlpools." Gomamon replied.

"Whirlpools?" Takuya asked.

"Don't worry, we're safe here, but if you get too close, they'll suck you in and never spit you out, and even if you could get passed them, you'd get slammed up against the cliffs that surround the only beach you can land on. We know all about it because we used to live there." Gomamon explained.

"So, is there some sort of secret way to get there, or something?" Takuya asked.

"No, I wish there were." Gomamon replied.

"You can't get home?" Zoe asked.

"That's right. Everything used to be so wonderful here, then one day when we went out to play and get some food, there was a big earthquake. That's when the whirlpools started. We were cut off from our island, and we haven't been able to get home since." Gomamon said.

"I'd be willing to bet that the earthquake happened when the destruction of the digital world began. It seems there's no one that Cherubimon's evil touch hasn't hurt." Bokomon said.

"So you're saying there's no way to get across, huh?" Koji asked.

"Maybe we'll be able to find some kind of flying digimon who will take us over to the island." J.P. suggested.

"Hey, good idea." Takuya said.

"Well of course, that should totally work." Gomamon said.

"Thanks for the help you guys, you really saved our necks." Takuya said, then started walking away. Koji tried to follow, but I was still looking at the poor Gomamon.

"Come on Princess, we have to get going." Koji said, trying to pull me towards the others.

"But, they all look so sad. What kind of princess would I be if I just let them suffer?" I asked him, using his own nickname against him.

"Jade's right. Why don't you all come with us? I mean, don't you want to go back home?" Zoe walked up to the Gomamon.

"Oh don't worry about us, we'll be just fine. If we swim close up to the whirlpools, we can catch a really good view of our friends on the other side." Gomamon replied.

"You bet, we get along just fine." Another Gomamon said.

"Come on! Are you trying to tell me you're not even a little sad, watching all your friends from afar, not even being able to talk to them? Well I don't buy it! Everyone gets sad without their friends!" Zoe said.

"Yeah, we just try to ignore it, because otherwise, we get all depressed." Gomamon said.

"Listen guys, I think I have a quick and simple solution to your problem, you're all going to come with us!" Zoe exclaimed.

"Although I appreciate the sentiment, don't you think it might be a tad dangerous?" Bokomon asked.

"Come on guys, we have to try!" Zoe said.

"We can't even help ourselves. I mean, we don't even have our D-Tectors anymore. What good are we?" Koji asked us.

I started to doubt, "Maybe he's right. Maybe we can help them out after we have our D-Tectors back."

"That's a good excuse if you want to give up, but I'm not going to. Sure it's tough, but I believe we can do whatever we put our minds to. Come on you guys, let's get you back to your friends, okay?" Zoe said.

"After that speech, I don't think that we could say no, even if we wanted to." Gomamon said.

"I hope it works, if it doesn't we'll make it work!" Zoe seemed determined, and there was no way to stop her when she was like this.

"I guess you're right." I sighed, this was going to be hard.

"Zoe's right, we'll help each other out, we'll make it together." Takuya said.

"Even without our D-Tectors, I guess there's still plenty we can do as a team." Koji said.

"You mean it, really?" Zoe asked.

"I can't swim well, and I'm afraid of water, but count me in." Tommy said.

"Hey, finding flying digimon is too much work anyway." J.P. said.

"It's decided then, finally." Bokomon said.

"Guys…" Zoe said.

"Don't start crying, because you know Tommy will just start crying." Takuya said.

"Yeah, and if he doesn't, I will." J.P. added.

"Awesome, then let's get to work everybody!" Zoe said.

Koji dragged me back to the beach house. "Why are we going in there?" I asked him.

"We have to find something sharp if we're going to cut down those trees." He explained. We walked into the Kitchen and saw many knives, but none looked like they should be used outside of the kitchen. I wandered around the house, searching for something we could use. I came across a room that was filled with tools. There were shovels, hammers, and finally a huge knife that looked like it was used to chop down trees.

"Koji, I think I found something!" I yelled down the hall, not knowing where he was at.

He came down the hall. "What did you find?"

"A blade of some sort, I'm not really sure what to call it." I replied, leading him into the room.

He looked at the knife and nodded, "That will be perfect. We should hurry; we don't want the Toucanmon to leave the other island." I nodded and he grabbed the knife with one hand and my hand with the other. He led me out of the house then called out to the others, "Alright, let's get to work!"

We started working. It was tough; I wasn't used to this much manual labor. I was given the task of tying the logs together after Takuya and Tommy had brought them over. J.P. was no help at all; he just sat on the ground and drew pictures.

We finally finished. It looked more like a raft than a boat to me, but I couldn't complain if it was going to get me closer to getting my D-Tector and tiara back. Tommy, Bokomon, and Neemon sat on the raft while Koji, Takuya, J.P., Zoe, and I pushed it into deeper waters. I got on the raft first, easily pulling myself up. I then helped Zoe up. She went to help Takuya up while I went to help Koji up. I reached my hand out, grasping his in mine. I pulled him up, using my weight to my advantage. Unfortunately, once he was up, I lost my balance. Luckily, I landed on the raft, but I brought Koji down with me, thanks to the fact I was still holding his hand. He landed on top of me, knocking the breath out of me.

"Couldn't get enough of me, huh?" Koji smirked at me.

"Um, as much fun as this is, can you get off so that I can breathe?" I gasped. He chuckled and rolled off me. Everyone was staring at us. I blushed and looked away, "Um, shouldn't we help J.P. up?"

Everyone looked at J.P., who was holding on the raft with both arms and smirking at me. I rolled my eyes at him, but my face was still red. Koji and Takuya each took one of J.P.'s arms and together they pulled him up. We put the sail down, letting the wind take us towards the island.

"Could we not rock the boat so much?" Tommy asked. He was inside a barrel, trying to ignore how scared he was.

I was sitting in between J.P. and Koji, who was rowing. "I can't believe you built this without even looking at my plans." J.P. complained. We all ignored him.

"This is great." Zoe said, letting the wind blow through her hair.

"I'll say." Takuya agreed.

"But, what about my plans?" J.P. asked.

"J.P.!" We were all glaring at him.

"What?" He asked.

I looked forward to see giant whirlpools in front of us. They were huge! I scooted closer to Koji, wanting to feel his calming presence.

"So much for fun." Zoe commented.

"Those Gomamon sure weren't kidding." Koji said.

"They said it was bad, not horrible!" J.P. complained.

"There must be something at the bottom of the sea that's causing all this." Bokomon said.

"Well, maybe we can find it and fix it." Takuya said optimistically.

Suddenly, a giant wave came at us, "Tidal wave!" We all yelled and grabbed whatever was closest to us. I ended up grabbing Koji, who grabbed the barrel attached to the mast. He arranged us so that I was holding on to the barrel with both hands and his chest was pressed against my back while his hands were on either side of mine grabbing the barrel.

The wave hit, causing us to go underwater. I held my breath and closed my eyes, not wanting to get salt in them. When we came above water again, two pillars of water came out of the ocean in front of us. A third pillar rose up, and on top of it was Ranamon.

"Hi there, kiddy pies." She waved at us.

"Great, now what do we do?" Takuya asked.

"Well, if ya'll have any last wishes, now would be the perfect time to make them, don't you think?" She suggested.

Zoe had a determined look on her face. "Don't do it, Zoe. Don't you remember what happened last time? You were no match for her." J.P. tried to stop her.

"For Pete's sake! Am I the only one her with even a pinch of optimism?" Zoe asked.

"But, Zoe-" Takuya said before being interrupted by Zoe.

"Don't but Zoe, me! Just figure out how to stop the whirlpools while I hold her off." Zoe ordered us. "Hope this works." I heard her whisper.

"You can do it." I told her. She nodded and smiled.

"Execute, Spirit Evolution!" She yelled before turning into Kazemon.

"My, you're quite a little glutton for punishment aren't you?" Ranamon asked.

"Let's kick start this fight!" Kazemon said before kicking at Ranamon. The two pillars of water made a shield in front of Ranamon. After Kazemon was done kicking, they parted to show Ranamon lounging on her pillar of water. "Hurricane Wave!" Kazemon tried to split the water up with her attack like she did before, but it didn't work.

"Honey, I could do this all day, but I'll take pity on you and destroy you now." She snapped her fingers and a dark cloud appeared above Kazemon. "Drainin' Rain!" The rain was sapping Kazemon's energy, and fast.

"Zoe, no!" Takuya shouted.

"Zoe!" J.P. joined in as Kazemon began to fall into the whirlpool below.

"Zoe! If only there was something I could have done to help. Maybe together we could have beaten her." My grip on the barrel tightened, my nails digging into the wood.

"Zoe, come back!" J.P. looked ready to jump in after her.

"No, J.P.!" Koji said, pulling him towards the center of the raft.

"Zoe!" Takuya yelled at the water.

"It can't be." Bokomon was in shock.

"It could have been different, if I had pushed Koji harder that those Toucanmon were trouble, she would probably still be here." Tears were falling down my face. Sure, Zoe and I fought a lot, but she was still one of my best friends.

"What a bother, and here I thought I'd get a chance to test out my beast spirit, it's really not fair." Ranamon complained, still lounging on her pillar of water.

"You're toast, lady!" Takuya yelled at her.

"Thanks, but I already had my breakfast. Hey, maybe I could test out my beast spirit on ya'll." Ranamon said.

"Takuya look, the whirlpool's going away!" Tommy shouted. We all looked to see that it was true, the whirlpool was stopping. The water turned back to normal.

"It's what?" Ranamon asked. "Now how in the world did that happen?" She was staring at the water in disbelief. Another pillar of water shot up, this one bigger than all the others, but this one wasn't made by Ranamon. "What is going on?" She shouted.

"Oh my, could it be?" Bokomon asked. The water was gone in an instant, and Zoe was floating in the air in its place.

"It could!" Takuya shouted.

"It's Zoe!" J.P. yelled.

"Yes, I'm back, and I brought a little friend!" She held out her D-Tector. Multiple rings of blue light surrounded her hand, "Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution!" She turned into her beast spirit. She had blue hair that morphed into wings at the back. A purple cloth was covering her mouth. She had brown and white wings. She was wearing a grey scarf, a purple bikini that was similar to Kazemon's, thigh length purple boots, silver elbow length gloves, and silver shoulder guards. "Zephyrmon!" She shouted.

"Who is that?" Takuya sounded impressed, and I have to admit, I was too.

"That is Zephyrmon, legendary warrior of wind!" Bokomon exclaimed.

"Oh my, why? You're pretty! Your beast spirit made you pretty! Well, of course it's not like you're prettier than me, I mean, that's not even possible! But, just because you are prettier than me doesn't mean anything, you got it! Do you have adoring fans all over the world who worship you? I don't think so!" Ranamon was having a fit.

"You know something, for a legendary warrior of water, you sure give off a lot of hot air." Zephyrmon told her.

Ranamon's face reminded me of the expression, "If looks could kill." "That does it! You're going down, sugar. Now, how should I defeat you? Dark Vapor!" Ranamon shot a cloud of dark mist at Zephyrmon, who didn't even try to dodge it. "You're in for it now, girly. That haze will melt anything! Have your feathers started molting yet? Wait a minute, how come you're not molting?" Ranamon finally noticed that her attack wasn't doing anything.

"I think it's time you learned a little respect." Zephyrmon said as her hands began to glow red. "Plasma Paws!" She shouted and headed for Ranamon. Ranamon raised her pillar, causing Zephyrmon to go through it, breaking it apart and making Ranamon fall into the water.

"All right!" Tommy cheered.

"I'll say." Koji agreed.

"She's controlling her spirit!" Takuya exclaimed.

"She's amazing, isn't she, J.P.?" Tommy asked the older boy.

J.P. was looking at Zephyrmon with in the same way he was looking at me when I had on my bikini, but worse. "Boy, howdy!"

I smacked him on the back of his head, "Show some respect!"

Ranamon chose that moment to stick her head above water. "Alright, that's it! No more pussy footing around. Ranamon Slide Evolution! Calmaramon!" She turned into her ugly beast spirit. "Let the party begin!" She was staring at Zephyrmon.

"Zoe, get away!" J.P. yelled.

"J.P., have some faith in her. Come on Zephyrmon; show this witch how to really fight!" I yelled up at her.

"You won't be so pretty when I get through with you, sweetheart! Acid Ink!" Calmaramon's face puffed up before she shot black ink at Zephyrmon. Zephyrmon dodged the attack, moving to the other side of her. Calmaramon shot more ink at her, but Zephyrmon dodged again and the ink hit a rock, dissolving it. "That's what will happen to your friends! Ready kids?" She asked before shooting the ink at us. Zephyrmon cut through the attack with her claws, but some of the ink hit her wing, dissolving it slightly. "Aw, what's the matter, little girl? Did I burn you all up?" Calmaramon asked, spitting more ink at Zephyrmon. Zephyrmon clawed at the ink, but Calmaramon wrapped one of her tentacles around her. "I'm just too good!" Calmaramon said, laughing.

"That witch!" Takuya yelled.

"It's awful, we can't do anything." Tommy said.

Calmaramon squeezed Zephyrmon tighter. "Stop it, let her go, you scum queen!" Koji yelled.

"Yeah, you ugly fish head!" J.P. added.

"What? What did you say?" Calmaramon glared at J.P., making him cower in fear.

"You heard him! If we call her names and distract her, maybe Zephyrmon can escape." Koji whispered to us.

"Okay…Hey you slimy dateless wonder!" Takuya shouted.

"You big coward!" Tommy shouted. We all started shouting insults at her.

"Hey, the ugly department called, they don't want their face back!" I yelled, and that was the last straw.

"Can it! Oh, you are so dead!" Calmaramon loosened her grip on Zephyrmon, allowing her to escape.

"Hurricane Gale!" Zephyrmon yelled, causing Calmaramon to get hit by a violent whirlwind and feathers of light. Calmaramon fell back into the water. We cheered. "That's for picking on my friends." Zephyrmon told her.

"And go tell your friends they'll get more of that if they mess with us!" Takuya shouted.

Calmaramon was slowly sitting up. She turned around and her makeup was smeared, making her face even scarier, "Now you're going to get it!" Takuya, J.P., and Tommy all screamed.

"That's the scariest thing yet!" Tommy exclaimed.

"Be quiet, you brats are in for a heaping helping of pain! Titanic Tempest!" Calmaramon twisted her body and started to spin. She couldn't control it, she was moving back and forth in no apparent direction.

"Oh, I am going to enjoy this." Zephyrmon said.

"I let you off easy, this time!" Calmaramon said as she spun off into the distance.

"What was that?" J.P. asked.

"I guess someone can't control her beast spirit yet. Now, let's get everybody back to that island." Zephyrmon said before pushing the raft to the island.

All the Gomamon were cheering, happy to be back with their friends.

"They're sure happy." Neemon said.

"And it's all thanks to you, Zoe. If you didn't have the courage to stand up to Ranamon, none of this would be possible." Bokomon told her.

"Thanks." Zoe said.

"My pleasure." Bokomon replied.

"Hey Zoe, how were you able to control your beast spirit so fast?" Takuya asked.

"Well, just luck, I guess." Zoe replied.

"Not because you're a girl?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, maybe, but I won't tell, a girl's has to have, secrets." She blew them a kiss.

"You feel as sick as I do right now?" Takuya asked Tommy.

"No, I'm sicker." Tommy replied.

"Guys-" Zoe said.

Neemon cut her off, "Me too!"

"Knock it off!" She yelled at him.

"I think you overdid it, Z." I told her, laughing.

Before she could reply, the Gomamon walked up to us. "We just wanted to thank you all. If it weren't for you, we would never have seen our friends again."

"You should be thanking Zoe." Takuya told them.

"Yeah, she's the one who did everything." Koji said.

"Aw, you guys helped me more than you know." Zoe said, hugging Takuya and Koji.

I scowled at her and Koji noticed, "Cut it out." He said.

"Hey, we want one too! Where's ours, huh?" J.P. and Tommy were bouncing up and down.

She laughed, "Okay." She gave them hugs. As she was doing this, I walked up to Koji and grabbed his hand.

We turned to the Gomamon, "Hey, did you guys see the Toucanmon?" Koji asked them.

"They're gone. They all left for the Autumn Leaf Fair." Gomamon informed us.

"The what?" Takuya asked.

"It's a traders market on the continent north of here." Bokomon told us, reading out of his book.

"Then, let's go." Takuya said.

"But, how?" Zoe asked.

"Why is nothing ever easy?" J.P. asked.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we can do it if we work together!" I said, smiling.

**A/N: Well, now that that's over with, what did you think? I know, I know there was a lot of drama in that chapter, but I was on a roll. Be honest, was it too much? I really want to hear from you, so please review. :)**


	14. Bizarre Bazaar

**A/N: Another chapter completed! I would like to thank MCRDanime and Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 for reviewing my last chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 14<br>Bizarre Bazaar**

"Does anybody know the quickest way to get to the Autumn Leaf Fair?" Koji asked.

"I know! There is a straight current of water that leads you right to it. It starts on the other end of the island, so you will have to carry your raft there." A Gomamon spoke up.

"That's great, can you lead us there?" I asked.

Gomamon nodded, "Follow me." We lifted the raft. We put J.P. and Takuya on one side, while Koji, Zoe, and I were on the other. Tommy, Neemon, and Bokomon were too short, so they just walked along beside us.

We soon found out that it was no easy task to carry a raft across an entire island filled with trees. We had to go around many patches of trees, and turn the raft many different ways to get through some. It was exhausting. Finally, we made it to the other side of the island.

"Alright, now all you have to do is follow this current, and you will get to the Autumn Leaf Fair in no time!" Gomamon said.

"Thanks so much! It was really kind of you to show us this current." I said.

"Well, it's the least I could do for letting us see our friends again." Gomamon replied. "You guys better hurry if you hope to catch up with the Toucanmon."

"Right, thanks again!" Takuya said. "Alright, let's get this into the water." We brought the raft into the water. The current was really strong; it was hard for me to hold the raft down while Tommy, Bokomon, and Neemon got on. Since we didn't have to push off this time, we just got on the raft.

We were soon coasting along pretty fast. Tommy was back in his barrel, J.P. was steering the raft, Zoe was sitting at the back, and Takuya, Koji, and I were sitting at the front. Koji was sitting with his back against the barrel. He had his arm around my waist, keeping me close to him.

"Wow, this is working great! We should get to that Autumn Leaf Fair thingy in no time." Takuya said.

"Let's hope so." Bokomon said.

"And let's hope the Toucanmon are there." Tommy said, looking over to see that Neemon was asleep. "How can anyone sleep at a time like this? Doesn't he know we have important things to do?"

"Like what, sweep up the raft? Relax." J.P. told him.

Some salty water splashed my face, getting my bangs all wet. I shook my head, letting them smack against my face, and hitting Koji with my braid in the process. "Oops," I giggled, "Sorry, Koko."

He smirked, "I think it's time that somebody taught you a lesson, Princess." He reached toward the edge of the raft and put his hand in the water. He flicked it at me, getting my shirt wet.

"Oh, you want to go there? Alright, let's go there." I reached on my side with both hands and scooped up some water. I threw it at Koji, but he ducked and it hit Takuya. I laughed at his shocked expression.

"That's it!" He placed his goggles over his eyes before splashing me with water. I was about to splash him back, when Koji splashed me. I was going to splash him, when Takuya splashed me again.

"Hey, stop teaming up on me!" I was soaking wet now.

Koji smirked at me, "You started it, Princess."

I narrowed my eyes, "Fine, but just remember that you asked for it." I made a huge splash in the water, getting both boys wet. I continued doing this over and over again, not giving them a chance to get me back. I laughed when they became even wetter than me.

"Alright, I give!" Takuya said, raising his hands in defeat.

I smiled and looked at Koji, "Are you going to give up too?"

He sat down with his back to the barrel again and grabbed me around my stomach from behind. He pulled me into his lap and whispered, "I'll never give up, especially not on you."

"Aw, Koji." I was leaning in to kiss him when I realized that Tommy was watching, so I settled for relaxing into his lap, leaning back on his chest.

The raft started to speed up, "Man, we're really cooking along now." Takuya said, but then we passed a couple chunks of ice floating on the water. "Well, maybe cooking isn't really the right word."

"Yeah, I can't feel my fingers." Zoe said. Koji leaned me forward a little bit before taking off his jacket and handing it to her.

"Take it." He told her.

"Yeah, you sure?" Zoe asked. He nodded. "Grazie, you're the best!" She said, putting it on.

I looked back at him curiously and he leaned forward to whisper in my ear, "I don't need it; I have you to keep me warm." I smiled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek while Tommy was looking at Neemon.

"Neemon, wake up! You can't sleep in the cold, you'll freeze to death!" Tommy exclaimed and Neemon woke up.

"Hey, look at that!" Bokomon said. We looked forward, but saw nothing.

"Um…what are we looking at?" J.P. asked.

"Land ahead!" Bokomon exclaimed before we were suddenly on an island covered in snow, and still moving fast.

"That was way better than I thought it'd be, but where's that Autumn Fair thing?" Takuya asked.

Bokomon brought out his book, "It should be just up ahead." He informed us.

"Well, there is something ahead…" Zoe said, bringing our attention to the giant crater in the snow. "But it doesn't look very fair."

"Everyone, hold on to something so we don't fall off the raft!" He gently nudged me off of him so that I would be able to hold onto the raft. We went over the edge seconds after I got a hold of one of the logs. We were going downhill, and fast.

"It's not over yet." Tommy said. "What is that?" We looked ahead to see a snowman.

"A snowman?" We all exclaimed at the same time. Everyone covered their head with their hands, but I was just a second too late. I got snow all over my face. The raft was torn apart by the collision, and we rolled the rest of the way down the hill.

"That's more what I was expecting." Takuya said.

"Hey, it's warm here." Koji said. I looked at the ground, which was covered in grass instead of snow.

"It's warm? Why is it warm?" Zoe asked.

"Maybe that." Takuya said, pointing at a giant heater in the middle of a fair. "Hey, it's the Fair thingy!"

"Oh, how I despise crowds." Bokomon said.

"Even if those Toucanmon are here, it will be like finding the tiniest needle ever in a million haystacks." Zoe said.

"So, should we split up and get looking?" Takuya asked. We all nodded, heading off in different directions.

I walked in the first shop that I found, a costume shop. Behind the counter was a bear-like digimon with a blue hat that said BEARS. "Excuse me, but did a couple of Toucanmon come through here?" I asked.

"Toucanmon? No, I haven't seen any Toucanmon around here." The digimon replied, looking bored.

"Okay, well thanks anyway." I waved as I left the shop.

It was the same everywhere I went. Nobody had seen the Toucanmon. I was just about to give up, when I saw a jewelry shop, "Well, might as well look in here." I walked into the shop and saw something that I definitely didn't expect. There was a little pink and brown rabbit digimon following a little girl. The little girl was wearing a pink shirt with white sleeves, pink shorts, and yellow shoes. Her hair was brown with pink tints and was pulled up into two little pig tails near the top of her head.

"Lopmon, I want this pwetty silvew cwown." The little girl said to the digimon, holding up my tiara.

"Alright Suzie, I'll buy it for you." Lopmon told the little girl.

"Wait!" I said, just as she was handing the money to the puppy-like digimon that was behind the counter.

"Can I help you, Miss?" The puppy-like digimon asked.

"That's my crown! Did some Toucanmon come in earlier and sell you that?" I asked.

"Now that I think of it, yes I did get this from some Toucanmon." She replied.

"Well, those Toucanmon stole it from me." I said, happy that I had found my prized possession.

The digimon narrowed her eyes at me, "How do I know that you are telling the truth?"

"Just let me try it on, I'm sure that it fits perfectly." I said confidently.

"That's not faiw! I saw it fiwst!" Suzie complained.

The digimon sighed in relief, obviously wanting an excuse to get away from me. "That is true, the girl did see it first, if you want to convince anyone, convince her." She took Lopmon's money and put it in a pouch.

"Please, that tiara is very important to me. It probably would be too big for your head. It would make me really happy if you would give it back to me." I told her sincerely.

"Too bad! Besides, it's not fow my head, it's fow pwincess pwetty pants." Suzie said before walking out of the shop.

"Wait!" I ran after her. Once she saw that I was following, she took off in a run. I was faster than her, so I was catching up to her fast.

When she saw how close I was, she started yelling, "Henwy, please come help me! This cwazy lady is aftew me!" She turned a corner and I quickly followed, running into somebody, making us both fall to the ground.

"Hey, watch where you're going." The person I ran into said. I looked up and saw that I had run into a girl about my age. She had red hair that was pulled back out of her face. She was wearing a short sleeved shirt with a dark blue heart on it, jeans with a brown belt, and red shoes with silver tips.

"Ouch, I'm really sorry. Hey, did you see where that little girl went?" I asked her.

"You're the one that was chasing Suzie? Well, if you want to get to her, you'll have to go through me." The girl said, putting her hands on her hips.

I groaned, "I don't have time for this, it is really important that I get what I'm looking for."

She raised her eyebrows at me, "What exactly are you looking for."

I took a couple of deep breaths before saying in a nicer voice, "Listen, I think that we got off on the wrong foot, I'm Jade, and you are?" I made sure that I was smiling and looking her straight in the eyes.

"My name is Rika, and I still want to know what you are doing here. If you're a tamer, then where is your partner? I also want to know what you want with Suzie." She wasn't budging.

"Wait, a tamer? What's that?" I asked her.

She looked at me in shock, "A digimon tamer, someone who has a digimon partner that they raise to be stronger. My partner is Renamon." As she said the name, a fox-like digimon appeared next to her.

"Yes, Rika?" Renamon asked.

"Nothing, I was just using you as an example of a partner digimon, which this girl doesn't seem to have." Rika explained.

"Thank you so much for telling me about partner digimon, but I really have to go, bye." I tried to walk past her, but she stopped me.

"You still haven't told me what you want with Suzie." She said.

"Fine, she has something of mine that I want back." I said.

"What does she have?" She asked.

"My tiara." I replied.

"Your…tiara? Isn't that a kind of crown?" Rika asked.

"Yes, now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find her before she does something to ruin it." I said, trying to walk past her again.

"I'll find her for you and we will get this figured out." Rika said. "Renamon, do you think that you could go find Suzie and Henry for me?" She asked her partner.

"I'll be back soon." Renamon replied.

Rika nodded and Renamon disappeared. "So, what brings you to the digital world?" Rika asked me.

"It's my destiny to be here." I said.

"Your destiny? What are you supposed to do?" Rika asked.

"Why is it any of your business? I'm not asking you why you're here, even though I have more a right to than you do." I said, getting tired of this conversation.

"What gives you the right?" She asked.

I turned my head away, "I don't have to explain myself to you."

"But you do have to explain yourself to me." I looked up to see that Suzie was back and she was holding the hand of the boy who had spoken. He had spiked blue hair. He was wearing a black short sleeved tee shirt with an orange vest over it, brown pants, and grey and yellow sneakers. He had a digimon that looked similar to Lopmon, but it was green and cream colored, on his shoulder.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm Henry, Suzie's brother, and you are?" He was so calm, it kind of scared me.

"I'm Jade." I said.

"So Jade, what do you want with my sister?" He asked.

"Well, she has my tiara." I said, pointing to my tiara that was still in her hand.

"She stole your tiara?" He raised his eyebrows at me.

"No, the Toucanmon stole it, and then sold it to a jewelry shop here and Suzie bought it. Actually Lopmon bought it for Suzie, but still." I said.

He still had his eyebrows raised, "So, you're telling me that some Toucanmon stole this tiara and then sold it here and my little sister just happened to buy it?"

"Yeah." I said.

"That's ridiculous, why would you care what happened to a stupid tiara?" Rika asked, taking it from Suzie's hands and shaking it back and forth.

I snatched it from her hands, "That is fragile! You think that emeralds grow on trees?"

"Emeralds?" Henry asked.

"Yes, the jewel in the middle is a real emerald, and the tiara is real silver." I told him.

"How would you know this?" He asked, taking it from my hands.

I groaned, "Because, it belongs to me, like I told you before."

"Do you actually wear it?" Rika asked, giving me a weird look.

"Yes I do! It shows my title." I said, and then realizing what I had said, I smacked my forehead.

"And what is your title?" Henry asked.

I stood up straight and looked him in the eye, "I am the Princess of the Digital World."

Everyone gave me disbelieving looks. "Wow, I've never heard that one before." Rika said.

"Why is that so hard to believe? After all, you're the Digimon Queen." Henry said.

"Huh?" I asked.

Rika was smirking, "You haven't heard of me?"

"No, actually, I haven't. How did you get that title?" I asked.

"By winning the digimon card game tournament." She replied.

"Oh, a card game, that's good." I sighed in relief.

"Why, how did you get your title?" Henry asked.

"It's my destiny to be the Princess." I said.

"Well, if you want your tiara back you'll have to convince Suzie to give it to you." Henry said.

"How do I do that?" I asked.

"If she thinks that you really are a princess, then she might give it to you." He replied.

I sighed, "Hey Suzie, do you want to give me my tiara now?" I smiled at her.

"It's not youws, it's mine. Besides, why would I want to give it to you?" She asked.

"Well, because it really is mine, and because I'm a princess, and doesn't every princess wear a tiara?" I asked.

"Yeah evewy pwincess does, but I don't believe that you'we weally a pwincess." She replied.

I sighed; it was going to be impossible to convince this kid.

I heard someone walk up behind me, "Hey Princess, who are your friends?" I turned to see Koji walking towards me.

"Koji! Thank goodness you're here!" I exclaimed, running up to him and hugging him.

He chuckled, "Did you miss me that much?"

I rolled my eyes, "Shut up, I need your help. I found my tiara, but that little girl over there bought it and won't give it back. Her brother said that the only way that I could get it back is to convince her that I really am a princess."

"What do you need me to do?" He asked.

"Just follow my lead." I walked up to Suzie, Koji trailing behind me. "Hey Suzie, you know how every princess has her knight that will save her from anything? Well, this is mine."

"But, he's just a kid, like you. I bet he's weally just youw boyfwiend." She said.

"He is my boyfriend, but he is also my legendary warrior. It's his job to keep me and the digital world safe." I told her.

"I still don't believe you. Maybe if people actually called you Princess, then I would buy it." She said.

"Didn't you hear Koji when he came up? He called me Princess." I was getting really tired of this. I was half tempted to just steal the crown from her, but I knew that Rika would probably beat me up if I did.

"Yeah, but that's your boyfwiend, he can call you anything he wants." She said.

I rolled my eyes. "Listen, since I can't help convince her, I have to tell you something. Tommy left town. Takuya left to find him and I was sent to find you so that you could help find him. But, considering the situation, I'll leave you here so that you can get your tiara back."

I nodded, my mind thinking about Tommy. "Do you think that he's okay?"

"Who, Tommy? He'll be fine. He knows how to take care of himself. Don't worry, everything will turn out alright. Okay?" I lifted my chin so that I was looking him in the eye.

"Okay." He smiled and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. When I turned around again, Rika, Henry, and Suzie were all staring at me. "What?" I asked, blushing.

"Nothing." They all said, looking away.

I sighed, "Listen Suzie, I really need that tiara, my friends need my help, and if I can't convince you now, then I probably won't see you again."

She seemed to think about it for a second, "I still think that it's my crown."

I sighed, "Fine, since I can't convince you, I have to go. Tommy is more important than that tiara will ever be." I started to turn around again, but stopped when I heard them gasp. "What?"

Henry pointed to my head, "How did that get there?"

I put my hand to my head and felt my tiara resting on it. I looked at the tiara that was still in Henry's hands. I pulled off the tiara on my head and saw that it was almost exactly the same as the other, except this one was gold. I gasped, "Well, I guess I don't need my old tiara now. I'm sorry that I bothered you." I started to walk away after putting it back on my head.

"Wait, how did that get there?" Rika asked.

"I told you, I am the Princess of the Digital World." I said without turning around or stopping. When I got to the corner I turned to see them all still staring at me. I waved then started jogging towards where we came in, wanting to find Tommy.

I finally got there and Takuya, Koji, and Tommy were already there. They were standing in the snow and Tommy was crying. "Tommy! Is everything okay?" I ran up to them.

Koji looked up, "Jade you got your tiara back…wait a minute, that's not your tiara."

"It appeared on my head after I said that Tommy was more important than my old tiara, so why is Tommy crying?" I asked.

"I-I-It's all my fault! I could have tried harder to get the D-Tectors back, but I let the Toucanmon get away!" Tommy cried.

I patted his back, "Hey, it's alright. I'm sure that we'll get them back, one way or another. Let's just go back to the fair and we can find Zoe and J.P. and figure out what to do."

He nodded and we all walked back to the fair in silence.

"Leaf Cyclone!" We heard someone yell. We immediately started running towards the source. Tommy led the way to a destroyed store that two digimon were fighting in. One of them was Petaldramon, and the other was a small mechanical digimon. "Leaf Cyclone!" Petaldramon released a cyclone of wind and leaves, hitting the other digimon back into a counter.

"Petaldramon." Koji said, making Petaldramon turn around. Takuya and Koji each picked up a stick to fight with.

"Oh, this is going to be good." Petaldramon said.

Tommy and I rushed to the other digimon. Tommy seemed to know him. "Hey, are you all right Datamon?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Oh, it's you." Datamon said.

"I couldn't find anything to trade and I tried so hard." Tommy was close to tears.

Datamon touched Tommy's cheek and chuckled, "You did just fine, kid. You ever heard the expression that truth is the greatest treasure?"

"No." Tommy replied.

Datamon held out Tommy's D-Tector, "Go on, take it. You know, at first I just thought you were making up stories because you wanted these things so badly, but you truly deserve to have them. Here, take it."

"Thanks Datamon!" Tommy said.

"But, uh, don't tell anyone I've gone soft, okay?" Datamon said. Tommy put his D-Tector by his ear and shook it. Datamon laughed, "It's not broken, but I did add something."

"Like what?" Tommy asked.

"What you won in the game, it's really yours, after all." Datamon replied.

Tommy looked at the screen, "My beast spirit! You are awesome, Datamon!" He exclaimed. Tommy stood up, "Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution! Korikakumon!" Tommy's beast spirit looked like a giant polar bear with brown horns, feet, and hands. He carried two axes and the hair on its head is braided back with arrowheads on the ends.

"Wow. That's amazing." I said.

Korikakumon grabbed Petaldramon's tail and held him back from attacking Koji and Takuya, who were both on the ground.

"Korikakumon! Legendary beast spirit of ice!" Bokomon exclaimed.

"So, it really is true! Humans have the power to turn into digimon!" Datamon said.

Petaldramon turned to face Korikakumon, but Korikakumon punched him in the face. Once Petaldramon was on the ground, Korikakumon did something that looked like praying.

"Tommy, what in the world are you doing? This is no time for reflection." Bokomon yelled.

"Behind you, look out!" Datamon yelled because Petaldramon was coming up behind Korikakumon. He tackled him to the ground, but Korikakumon pushed him off with his hair.

"Avalanche Axes!" Korikakumon yelled, making his axes appear. He disappeared, and then reappeared above Petaldramon. He hit Petaldramon with his axes, knocking him back. He then started laughing and dancing around.

"There's something you don't see every day." Koji commented.

"He can't control his spirit; he sure looks silly, doesn't he?" Takuya asked.

"Not as silly as you looked, trying to beat up your friends, Mr. Pot calling the kettle black." Bokomon remarked.

"Boy are you going to regret that! Thorn Jab!" Petaldramon shoved his tail into the ground, and it came up again under Korikakumon, stabbing him.

Here, catch! Help out your friend, guys!" Datamon threw Koji and Takuya their D-Tectors.

"Hey, could you throw me mine?" I asked.

"You have a D-Tector?" He asked.

"Yes, I do. Do you have a problem with that?" I glared at him.

"No, here it is." He passed me my D-Tector.

Takuya was first, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" He digivolved into Agunimon.

Next, Koji, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" He digivolved into Lobomon.

My turn, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" I felt myself morph into DeviAngewomon.

"How about we heat things up a little?" Agunimon said before shooting flames.

"Lobo Kendo!" Lobomon used his swords to make a beam.

"Evil Charm!" I made a cross in the air with my claw.

All three attacks were sent at the vines holding Korikakumon prisoner. The vines broke, freeing him. He pushed Petaldramon up the hill and out onto the snow. "And now, Frozen Arrowheads!" Korikakumon yelled. The arrowheads on the ends of his braids lit up and stabbed Petaldramon in the stomach.

He slid across the snow like a sled, "I'll be back!"

Korikakumon got in his praying position again, this time not having anything to interrupt him. He soon calmed down and his eyes opened. I could tell that he was finally in control. He turned back into Tommy.

"Malto bene!" I heard Zoe yell. She and J.P. ran over to us.

"I'm just glad I didn't hurt you guys when I got my beast spirit." Tommy said.

"Why does everybody have to bring that up?" Takuya said at the same time I said, "Can't you guys just let it go?" We looked at each other and nodded, each respecting the other.

"Digi-Destined," Our D-Tectors all spoke with Ophanimon's voice.

"Ophanimon." Takuya said.

"Seraphimon turned into a digi-egg." Zoe told her.

"Yes, I know." Ophanimon replied.

"So what are we supposed to do about it?" Koji asked.

"Before I tell you, you must know that this is a crucial point. You can stop now, or face the dangerous road ahead. Will you accept the risk?" Ophanimon asked us.

We all looked at each other. We had grown so close, and I felt that I could do anything with these guys by my side. We all agreed.

"You better believe we will." Takuya spoke for all of us.

"You must be certain, all of you." Ophanimon said.

"I don't think I've ever been more certain of anything in my life." Zoe said.

"Me either." J.P. said.

"Yeah." Tommy agreed.

"There's no way that I would back out just because it's risky. Everything we've done so far has been risky. It's not going to scare me away now." I said.

"So, what do we do now, Ophanimon?" Koji asked.

"Head for the Rose Morning Star and then-" The message went to static.

"What did you say? Ophanimon!" Koji yelled at his D-Tector.

"What is a rose morning star?" Neemon asked.

Bokomon looked around for a second, and then pointed into the sky, "That right there!"

"A star? How are we supposed to get there?" J.P. asked.

"We're not going to the star; we're going to what's beneath it." Bokomon explained.

"All that way?" J.P. asked.

We sighed, "It looks pretty far. We have to walk there?" Takuya asked.

Zoe gasped, "Presto!" She held up eight green cards.

"What are those?" Takuya asked.

"These are Trailmon tickets, remember that eating contest? Well, this is grand prize for eating thirty plates of that horrible food in an hour. Do I rock, or what?" Zoe asked.

We cheered.

"Well, then come on guys, let's head for that star!" Takuya yelled. We cheered again.

We headed down to the station at the Autumn Leaf Fair. We hopped aboard a Trailmon, and we started on our journey.

**A/N: Okay, I'm not sure if I like this chapter. I thought that t would be a good idea to put my favorite characters from Tamers in it because Gallantmon is in the original with the shared voices, but now I'm not sure if I like it. Tell me what you think...**


	15. The Great Trailmon Race

**A/N: Finally, I have a little bit of spare time to write. Things have been pretty hectic lately. With me going on vacation, and the school year started, I have had no time to write. I also have been having trouble getting inspired for this chapter. Hope you like it. Thanks to Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967**

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><p><strong>The Warrior of Hope<br>Chapter 15  
>Trailmon vs. Trailmon<strong>

"Boy, this train is really moving; of course the scenery is kind of boring…" Takuya remarked.

I was barely paying attention to him; I was more focused on my D-Tector. On the screen was Gatowomon. I smiled, "It's good to have you back. I really missed being able to kick butt. With you around, I don't have to sit on the sidelines and watch Zoe have all the fun." Everyone else was looking at their D-Tectors too, each having a conversation with their spirits. The exception to this was J.P.

"Have you guys gone nuts? What are you talking to your Digivices for?" He asked.

"Don't knock it 'til you've tried it, my friend." Bokomon told him.

"Oh, excuse me, Mr. Bouncy Wouncy." J.P. replied, referring to the way Bokomon was talking to Seraphimon's egg.

"He likes it when we bounce." Bokomon said.

"Uh, huh." J.P. replied.

A server came through the door, "Good morning, now, would anyone like a little snack?"

Zoe stood up, "Me, I would."

"It cost money, you know." Takuya told her.

"I know!" She dug through her pockets, but didn't find anything. "Wait, can't I just owe you for one?" The server passed by, not even glancing at her.

"Zoe, didn't you just eat thirty plates of food earlier today?" I asked.

She pouted, "Yes, but I'm still hungry."

I laughed, "You'll be fine." I was sitting next to Koji, our fingers entwined.

"Are you saying that you're not hungry?" Zoe asked me.

"Not at all, I'm starving, but I've had to go longer without food before, I'll be fine." I said.

Koji raised his eyebrows at me, "Are you sure?"

I sighed, "Where would we get food? Besides, we're almost there." I pointed out the window to the Rose Morning Star. It looked much closer than it did last night.

"Oh, it's kicking, my baby is kicking!" Bokomon exclaimed. He then started singing, "Oh, yes you're mama's baby." He was dancing around while he did it.

It took all my willpower not to start laughing or get up and walk away. Seriously, did Bokomon think that he was a girl? Was he a girl? I always thought that he was a boy, but maybe…

My thoughts were interrupted by the Trailmon's voice, "Station coming up, everybody off that's getting."

I looked around; we were in a small town with houses stacked on top of each other every way that you can imagine.

"Wow, this place is great, look at all the cool houses, belisimo!" Zoe said.

"Alright, everybody out of the pool." The Trailmon said, forcing us to get off.

"There was a pool? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Neemon asked.

"Hey, where are we?" Takuya asked.

"Now that's a good question." J.P. said.

"Yeah." Tommy agreed.

"I thought this was the Rose Morning Star Express." Zoe said.

"Not today, it's the Great Trailmon Race, and I'm going to win!" The Trailmon said as it rushed down the tracks.

"Hey, wait! Just what is this Great Trailmon Race?" Takuya shouted.

"Well, if we're stuck here, we might as well look around." Koji suggested.

"I'm looking, and I'm liking." J.P. said.

"Wow, this Great Trailmon Race sure brings out a lot of digimon." I commented.

"Yeah, this place is packed." Koji said.

There was a big group of digimon looking down at the Trailmon tracks. Every type of Trailmon there was were all sitting at the starting line with a digimon partner.

"Hey, cool, check it out." Takuya said.

"Neat-o." Tommy said.

"What's going on?" Zoe asked.

"Seven Trailmon…" Tommy began.

"And seven riders. Each of the Trailmon is ridden by someone. They work as a team, but Trailmon riding is dangerous business." The digimon that was standing next to Tommy and looked like a scarecrow told us.

"Excuse me; I can't seem to find my partner." The Trailmon that had taken us here said.

"Is there some incredible grand prize for the winners?" Zoe asked.

"A cheeseburger." The digimon replied.

"Hey, right here! I'll be your partner!" Zoe ran up to the rider less Trailmon.

"Well, uh…" Before the Trailmon had a chance to reply, a wolf-like digimon jumped down beside him. It was walking on its two back feet and it was colored black and grey.

"He's already got a partner." The wolf digimon growled.

"Yeah." A dog-like digimon with a D on its chest agreed.

"Doggymon, will you please let me handle this!" The wolf digimon yelled.

My Digivice spoke up, "ShadowWereGarurumon is a particularly nasty character. His special attack is Shadow Claw. Doggymon is full of sneaky tricks and can stretch himself like rubber."

"Oh goody, together again, and a good thing too, I'd never win with a human riding me." The Trailmon laughed.

"Hey, that's a rude thing to say." Zoe told him.

"Forget this! I'm not racing ShadowWereGarurumon!" A giant snowman digimon said before running off. All the other drivers followed him.

"Now I don't have a rider." The pink mole-like Trailmon said.

"I'll do it, if that's okay with you." Zoe volunteered.

"Really? That'd be swell." The Trailmon replied.

"If she's riding, I'm riding, what do you say big guy?" J.P. asked one of the Trailmon.

"Swell." The Trailmon replied.

"This sounds like fun, I'm in." Takuya stood by a Trailmon with giant teeth.

"Don't blow it." The Trailmon told him.

It went on like this for each of us. My Trailmon was lime green with light purple stripes.

"How come I have to ride in the race, I don't want to." Neemon complained.

"Well, he wanted me, but I can't because I'm with egg." He rubbed Seraphimon's egg.

"Okay." Neemon gave in.

"Alright, we can do this. Are you ready?" I asked my Trailmon.

"Sure, this should be interesting." The Trailmon replied.

The announcer, who was an Angemon, spoke, "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to the annual Great Trailmon Race, sponsored by Digi Lou." The crowd cheered, "Sounds like you're ready to go and, so are they!" He counted down from ten, and the race began.

We started going, with ShadowWereGarurumon in the lead. J.P. pulled ahead to be even with ShadowWereGarurumon. I was right next to Zoe, both of us gaining on the leaders. Ahead, we saw J.P. spirit evolve into Beetlemon. Beetlemon pulled ahead of ShadowWereGarurumon. Beetlemon was trying to act cool, so, naturally, he fell on his face. In front of him, a Raremon was blocking his track. When Beetlemon smelled the Raremon, he fell on his back and de-Digivolved. He started running down the train, trying to escape the scent.

We passed by him, "Having trouble, J.P.?" I asked as I passed by.

"Aw, come on, why does this always happen to me?" He yelled after me.

Takuya passed me, heading straight for the lead. ShadowWereGarurumon was slowing down, so it was easy for Takuya to pass him. I was right behind ShadowWereGarurumon.

"Come on, let's hurry up and pass him." I told my Trailmon.

"Alright, let's do it." My Trailmon replied and sped past ShadowWereGarurumon.

"Peace-out, dude." I told him and made a peace sign with my hand.

"Not so fast!" He jumped onto my Trailmon and tried to push me off.

"Hey! You're going to pay for that! Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution!" I yelled and turned into Gatowomon. "Are you ready for this, dog boy?"

ShadowWereGarurumon growled and jumped back to his own Trailmon, "Doggymon, take care of her."

Doggymon laughed, "Jesting Howl!" He released a sonic howl, making my sensitive cat ears hurt.

I glared at Doggymon, "Midnight Eyes!" I shot the lasers out of my eyes.

Doggymon just stretched out his body and took my attack without flinching. He laughed at my surprised face, "Quick Shot!" He threw three red spherical objects at me, which I soon realized were bombs. I quickly hit two of them out of the air with my claws, but the third one hit me in the stomach, knocking me back into my seat. The bomb then exploded, causing damage to both me and my Trailmon.

My Trailmon stopped, "I'm sorry, but I don't think that I can go any further."

I smiled, "That's fine, you did your best, and in the end it was me who failed you."

"You didn't fail me, at least we weren't the first people to lose." Trailmon said optimistically.

I looked up as Koji, Zoe, and Tommy passed, "Watch out, those guys fight dirty!"

Tommy nodded, a determined look on his face. Zoe sent me a thumbs up.

Koji frowned, "Are you hurt?"

I shook my head, "No, but go kick some butt out there! I want payback for almost killing me!"

Koji smiled and yelled back at me, "No problem!"

I watched as Takuya and ShadowWereGarurumon passed over a bridge, still ahead of everyone else. Suddenly, the bridge behind ShadowWereGarurumon exploded. Koji was forced to jump over the gap. Tommy and Zoe were still speeding towards the gap. It looked like they weren't going to be able to stop. Tommy and Zoe both spirit evolved into their human forms.

Kumamon made a bridge out of ice, successfully making it across, but Kazemon was having trouble. Before she could do anything, her Trailmon went over the edge. She flew down, hoping to save it. I knew that she would need some help.

"Slide Evolution!" I became DeviAngewomon. I flew down into the gap and saw Kazemon struggling to pull her Trailmon up. I flew down next to her and grabbed the Trailmon, "Need some help?"

"DeviAngewomon, thank goodness! I was worried that I wasn't going to make it up all the way." Kazemon said.

"What do you mean by that?" Her Trailmon asked.

"Well, you're a little on the heavy side." Kazemon said.

"This happens to be my ideal weight, thank you very much." Her Trailmon replied.

We pulled the Trailmon up and saw Kumamon riding away.

"Kumamon, wait!" Kazemon yelled, letting go of her Trailmon. All the weight was suddenly on me, and that pulled both of us to the ground. "This stinks! All I wanted was a cheeseburger, is that so wrong?" Kazemon said as she transformed back into Zoe.

I sighed, "Z, we should probably go help J.P."

Zoe blinked, "Help J.P. with what?"

I rolled my eyes, "Last time I checked, he had a Raremon climbing up his Trailmon."

"Oh, right, good idea." Zoe said. "Can you give me a lift?"

"Sure." I said and carried her across the gap.

"Bye Mole, thanks for the ride!" Zoe called out to her Trailmon.

"Yeah, sure." Mole replied.

As we passed over my Trailmon I waved, "See you later."

"Bye." My Trailmon replied.

We finally made it to where Beetlemon was trying to hold his nose and fight Raremon at the same time. I put Zoe on the ground and headed towards Raremon, "Hey, do you need some help, Beetlemon?"

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Beetlemon asked.

"We're out of the race too, so we decided to help you out." I replied.

"Really, Zoe wanted to help me out?" He glanced up hopefully.

I rolled my eyes, "Actually, she completely forgot about you. I suggested that we come back for you."

He frowned, "Oh."

I walked up to the Raremon, "Excuse me, but could you get off this Trailmon? It's very rude to climb on people's backs."

Raremon looked at me in surprise, "Sure, I'm sorry for the trouble, but I was just protecting my home under the tracks."

I nodded, "That makes sense. It's all right, we won't bother you anymore."

Raremon nodded, "Thank you." It climbed back down into a hole underneath the tracks that was barely big enough for it.

Beetlemon was staring at me. "What?" I asked.

"How did you know to talk to it?" He asked.

I shrugged, "Intuition?"

Beetlemon shook his head, "Wow."

We both de-digivolved and walked over to where Zoe was standing. "Should we walk back now?" I asked. They both nodded and we set off on the long walk back.

We finally arrived at the station in time to see Koji and Tommy going off a cliff on the big screen. I gasped, but then KendoGarurumon saved both the Trailmon and Kumamon, too. "That was a close one." I looked up to see Bokomon and Neemon watching from the audience.

"Hey, guys." I waved up at them.

They nodded at me, "I saw your defeat, and it was interesting how that weak, champion level digimon was able to defeat you."

I blushed and glared at him, "I'd like to see you do better."

"Oh, someone's coming out of the tunnel!" J.P. exclaimed.

I looked back up at the screen, and bit my lip when I saw that it was ShadowWereGarurumon. "Where's Takuya?" I asked. A bright light followed by a stream of flames came out of the tunnel. "Oh, there he is." I laughed, "He sure knows how to make an entrance."

Bokomon stared at me, "How do you know that's Takuya?"

I continued to look at the screen, "Takuya is the Legendary Warrior of Fire, there is no way that he could be burned to death, that would be a little too ironic."

As I was saying this, BurningGreymon burst out of the flames, his Trailmon following on the dirt. BurningGreymon shot fire into his Trailmon, causing him to shoot fire out of his mouth. It hit the back of ShadowWereGarurumon's Trailmon, causing him to fly into the air like a rocket. They landed off the track and BurningGreymon's Trailmon got back on the track, leaving them in the dust.

I looked out across the tracks and could see them coming in for the victory. Suddenly, hands reached around my waist from behind. Usually, I would turn around and slap whoever it was, but I could tell that it was Koji, so I just relaxed against him. "How's it going?" I asked.

He chuckled, "Fine, but I couldn't get that revenge for you. I left it up to Takuya."

I smirked as I looked over my shoulder at him, "Wow, you left something as important as that with _Takuya_? I'm very impressed by how much you trust him now."

Koji rolled his eyes then turned my body all the way around so that I was facing him. "I knew that you were safe, and that is the most important thing."

I blushed and hid behind my hair. Koji chuckled and brushed my hair out of my face before kissing me. I immediately kissed him back, but we were interrupted by the sound of cheering. Takuya was finally back at the station.

Angemon was telling him what he won, "…and a trip for eight to the fabulous-"

"Wait a minute, what about the cheeseburger?" Zoe interrupted.

"There must be some mistake; the grand prize is a trip to Hamburger Digimon Village!" Angemon said.

"So, no food?" Zoe asked.

"Of course there is, you'll soon have more burgers than you can eat up in a lifetime." A digimon with a bun on its head interjected.

Zoe's stomach started to rumble, causing her to blush and us to laugh. "Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want, but my rumbling tummy is nothing compared to the noises I've heard you guys make."

The guys stopped laughing, looking guilty. I rolled my eyes, "I'm sure that you're not referring to me, right Zoe?"

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, just get on the train."

I smiled, "Whatever you say, Z"

We boarded the Trailmon and we were on our way.

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><p><strong>AN: Done, and how did you like it? Do you like the page break things? I decided that it was a good way to start and end my chapters. Anyway, review if you liked it, hated it, have any oppinions on it...**


	16. You Want Fries With That?

**A/N: Finally finished. Writer's block is horrible, especially when you know the cause and can't do anything to stop it. Anyway, thanks to Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 and Ebonywolf7 for reviewing my last chapter. :)**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Digimon, I would probably be more creative, so I don't own it. :(**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 16<br>You Want Fries with That?**

I was sitting next to Koji, my head on his shoulder, and my fingers interlocked with his. I was starting to get hungry, even the thought of hamburgers, which I hated, sounded good.

"So what's the story on this Hamburger Village?" Takuya asked.

"It's a hamburger lover's paradise, my dear boy." Bokomon replied.

"Sounds great!" Zoe said.

"Bring on the beef, baby!" Takuya said.

"Yeah, I'm going to eat my body weight, maybe even all of ours in burgers!" J.P. exclaimed.

I gagged, "That is disgusting."

"You don't like burgers?" Zoe asked, while everyone else just looked at me with surprise.

I shook my head, "I hate them. I can eat them, and they taste all right, but they would never be my first choice. I have no idea why. I love pretty much any kind of meat, but just the thought of hamburgers makes me feel sick. I can eat veggie burgers, but only certain types, because I won't eat tofu."

Koji raised his eyebrows at me, "You sure are picky."

I stuck my tongue out at him, "I'm not picky, I just don't like certain foods. If I have to eat it, I will, but I won't enjoy it."

He rolled his eyes, "Sure."

I poked his stomach, "Don't make me come over there."

He covered his mouth with his hand to stop the laugh that was going to emerge, "Don't even go there."

I smirked, "Why not?"

His eyes got an evil glint in them, "Because, if you don't, I'll do this!" He started tickling my weak spot, my stomach.

I tried to fold my arms over my stomach, but it didn't work, "Koji, p-please s-s-stop!" My words were having trouble getting out because I was laughing so hard.

"Ah, so you are ticklish." Koji said as he placed his arm around my shoulder and stopped tickling me.

I pouted, "No, I'm not."

He laughed, "Don't pout."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because, then I'll have to make you smile." Koji replied.

"If you can." I said.

He smiled wider, "Do you want me to prove it?"

Before I could reply, his lips were on mine. I continued to pout, not wanting to give in. He pulled me closer to him, turning my whole body to face him. He ran his fingers up my arm, making me tremble. It was so hard to keep pouting, but I was stubborn. He put his arms around me so that his hands were on the small of my back. His fingers traced shapes, but still I resisted the smile that wanted to appear on my lips. Then, one of his shapes brought my shirt up slightly, causing him to touch my bare skin. A shiver went up my body and I sighed in pleasure. He pulled away and smirked at me.

I blinked, in a daze, "What?"

He looked at me, laughter in his eyes, "You're smiling."

"Aw, crap." I said.

Koji laughed.

"Shut up." I said.

"Make me." His eyes were full of mischief.

I chuckled, "Fine." I grabbed the collar of his shirt and brought his lips to mine. He was just tracing my lips with his tongue when Zoe cut in.

"Would you two cut it out?" Zoe asked.

I laughed as I pulled away, "Sure."

Koji smiled and was content with putting his arms around my waist while I sat on his lap.

"Now arriving at Hamburger Village!" The Trailmon informed us.

We exited the Trailmon, thanking him for the ride.

The village looked deserted. The wind was blowing really hard, making dust fly into the air, and there was no one in sight.

"Wow, it's like we're in a ghost town." I said.

"Yeah, it's really suspicious." Koji said before taking my hand.

"Let's be careful." I said.

Everyone nodded and we started walking.

We finally hear voices, "Oh, mama!"

The wind died and we were able to see the little brown digimon hovering around another digimon who was crying on a table.

"What's up with them?" Takuya asked.

"Um, excuse me, are you alright?" Zoe ran up to them.

The digimon looked up and I saw that it had a burger bun on its head. "Oh no dear, a giant digimon raided our village. He said something about the three moons making him hungry, so my husband gave him a big plate of our best burgers."

"Now I'm hungry." Takuya said and I gagged.

"He liked them so much that he took my husband away to cook for him in his mansion." The digimon finished.

"Wow." Tommy said.

"Man, that's really messed up." Koji said.

"Yeah, how are we supposed to get our hamburgers now?" J.P. asked.

"Your compassion is astounding." Bokomon said.

"Papa is coming back, isn't he mama?" One of the flying brown digimon asked.

"Isn't he mama?" The rest echoed.

"Please young man, would you and your friends be able to help me find my husband?" She asked Takuya.

"Uh, I suppose, but I wouldn't know where to even begin looking for him." Takuya replied.

"The monster said he would bring daddy back if we made a bigger burger." One of the flying digimon said.

"He means a better burger, but I'm afraid that's impossible. My husband makes the best burgers around. There's no way anyone could make a better burger than my husband. Oh dear, what are we going to do?" She asked us.

"The monster said that to get daddy back, we have to have the better burger ready before he moves three times." One flying brown digimon said.

"No silly, he said before the three moons align." Another said.

"That's soon." A third one said.

"He's right, we must do something! The three moons will align by nightfall, and the Chameleonmon will be back for their master's burger." She said.

"Then it's up to us, we can make a better burger!" Zoe said.

We all looked at her blankly.

"Come on, I think we've eaten enough burgers in our time to be able to come up with something that at least looks right, and when the Chameleonmon take it to the mansion, we'll follow them." Zoe said.

"Nice plan." J.P. said.

"Except that I've never cooked before." Koji mumbled.

"Me neither, but I'm willing to try." Takuya replied.

I smiled at them, "Don't worry, how bad can it get?"

"Certainly not as bad as the eggs and noodles that the bird digimon made next to the Forest Terminal." Takuya said.

I laughed, "Let's hope not."

"I don't even know what's in them; I guess I'll have to make it up." Takuya said.

"That's the whole idea. We can each make one and have the judges taste them." Tommy suggested.

"Takuya, this will be a friendly competition, right?" Zoe asked.

"You worry too much, Zoe." Takuya replied.

"Yeah, no problem." Koji agreed.

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah right."

Takuya and Koji frowned at me, "What's that supposed to mean?"

I smiled innocently, "Oh, nothing."

They both shrugged before looking away.

"Why don't I be your taster? It would be an honor to lend my superior palate to such a noble cause. So, bring on the beef, baby!" Bokomon said.

"That just means you want to eat." Neemon said.

We all laughed.

"My kitchen is fully stocked, so help yourself to anything you need. Now, let's get cooking!" The digimon with a bun on its head said.

We cheered before we walked into the kitchen. There was food everywhere. I grabbed a purple apron, and then washed my hands. I didn't even know where to begin. I thought about it, "Beef, I need ground beef."

Everyone else had their ideas too, Koji was carrying around a tray of seafood, Takuya was gathering all kinds of different meat, and everyone else it was a mystery.

I headed for the fridge and found a package of ground beef that was already thawed. I brought it out and grabbed a frying pan. I pulled the meat out and put it on the table. I clumped the meat together into patties. Once that was finished, I put the frying pan on a burner and placed the patties on the frying pan. While the meat was cooking, I got out some lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, mayonnaise, ketchup, and buns. I started chopping the lettuce, followed by the tomatoes and onions.

I cried a little when I was chopping my onions, but other than that, everything went fine. I turned around to flip the burger, and then started cutting the pickles into little pieces. After the meat was cooked, I placed them all on buns. On top of the patties, I put the lettuce, then tomato, then onion, then pickles, with mayonnaise and ketchup on the top bun. "There, it's finally finished." I said. "A traditional American burger."

We all lined our burgers up on the counter.

"Meatloaf and Yakisabi noodles. Ladies and gentlemen, an exotic combination for a new generation." J.P. said.

Bokomon took a bite of it, "Well J.P., I'm surprised, it's actually edible."

"Here, try my burger Italiano, with cheese, tomato sauce, and lots of fresh chopped mushrooms." Zoe offered.

Neemon started shoving them in his mouth, "Yum, tastes like chicken."

"Mine are just your average burger, with ground beef, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, pickles, mayonnaise, and ketchup." I said.

Neemon and Bokomon both took one.

"That is really good." Bokomon said.

"Yummy!" Neemon said.

Everyone was giving me weird looks.

"What?" I asked.

"I thought that you didn't like hamburgers." J.P. said.

I nodded, "I hate them, but that doesn't mean that I don't know how to cook them."

"Are those supposed to be hamburgers?" Bokomon asked while examining Koji and Takuya's burgers.

"I think I saw one move!" Neemon said.

"Are you going to take a bite?" Bokomon asked.

"If they don't bite first." Neemon replied.

"Mine's the meaty-meat burger. Steak, pork cullet, and ground beef, I was going for volume." Takuya said.

"My deep-sea burger has lobsters, scallops, and shrimp." Koji said.

Neemon and Bokomon each took a burger.

"And, I topped it all off with sardines and some peanut butter!" Takuya said.

I gagged, "That sounds gross." I whispered.

"My special sauce is made from pureed squid and white chocolate." Koji said happily.

"Ugh, I think I'm going to barf, just hearing about that." I said.

"Disgusting!" Neemon and Bokomon both fell down.

Koji and Takuya each took one of their own burgers and took a bite, and then fed a bite to the other. They both gagged, "Bleck!"

"Interesting, are these one's yours, Tommy?" Neemon asked.

"Yeah, why? Does it look bad?" Tommy asked.

"No, we just need a break after the last ones." Bokomon explained.

"Or get our stomachs pumped." Neemon said.

"Would you like some fresh tea?" The hamburger-headed digimon asked.

"Yeah." Tommy said.

"Why don't we all take a short break? I'll bring your drinks outside for you in a minute." She said.

"These smell good, Tommy. Let's give them a try." Zoe said as she brought the tray outside.

"Hey Zoe, I'll taste them too!" J.P. ran after them.

"It wasn't really that bad, mine was better." Koji and Takuya both said at the same time.

"What are you talking about, Takuya? Yours was horrible!" Koji said.

"At least mine was edible, yours even smells bad! Yours just about killed Bokomon and Neemon!" Takuya replied.

"Maybe we should have a rematch, then!" Koji said.

"Fine, anytime, you'll lose!" Takuya said.

"Right, in your dreams botulism boy!" Koji said.

I snorted.

Takuya glared at me, "You're going to help Neemon and Bokomon judge."

I raised my eyebrows at Koji, "Are you really going to make me do this?"

He shook his head, "I don't want Takuya to poison you."

"But you don't care if he poisons us?" Bokomon asked.

"Hey! I'm not going to poison anyone!" Takuya said.

"Let's hope not." I said. I picked up one of my burgers and placed it in my mouth, "Hey, this isn't half bad."

Koji picked one up and took a bite, "Wow, that really is good. Where did you learn to cook like that?"

I shrugged, "I've never cooked burgers before in my life. I just did what I thought I had to do."

Takuya rolled his eyes, "Her burgers can't be that good." He grabbed one and took a bite. "Yum, that's really good."

I smirked, "You were saying?"

He rolled his eyes, "Whatever. So Koji, are we going to do this, or what?"

Koji nodded, "Yeah."

I shook my head at them, "I'm going to get some fresh air."

Koji nodded, "Alright, have fun."

I gave him a quick peck on the cheek, "For luck."

He grinned, "Thanks."

I walked out the back door of the kitchen and walked up the hill. The edge of the forest was coming up, so I sat with my back to a tree and looked up at the stars. It reminded me of going camping with my friends in Utah. We would go up to Megan's cabin and look up at the stars. We would all stay up late telling ghost stories and talking about boys. I imagined what they would say if they found out that I was dating Koji. They would be really happy for me. I had always had the worst luck in relationships. I always end up getting hurt. I built up walls, to protect myself, but Koji tore them down. I felt so bare, but I guess it feels better than being numb. That's how I always was, never really a part of the crowd, because I didn't really get their jokes, but always there for them when they needed me. I was "the nice one." Sometimes they would joke that I was too nice. I would always laugh along, but inside I wondered if they were right. Is that why nobody liked me? Because I was too nice? I knew that it sounded ridiculous, so I never brought it up, but I always wondered.

I sighed, bringing myself back to the present. I should probably get back before Takuya and Koji completely destroy the kitchen. I walked down the hill and could hear their shouting already.

"My hamburger's the best!" That was Takuya.

"Wrong again, dorkus." Koji replied.

"Which one is it, guys?" They both yelled right as I got to the doorway.

Neemon and Bokomon ran out past me. "Guys, it doesn't matter whose burger is better." I said.

"Are they still arguing about that?" Zoe said from behind me.

I nodded, "Yeah. Wait, where have you guys been?"

"Did you completely forget about the giant digimon taking the chef?" Zoe asked.

I bit my lip, "Um, kind of."

"Well, the big digimon was actually Petaldramon." Tommy said.

"Wow, really?" I asked.

"Yeah, and he fell asleep after eating Tommy's burgers." J.P. said.

"That's good. I'm glad that you guys got away." I said.

"Next time we see him, we'll take him down!" Takuya said, startling us all.

"What?" I asked.

"We will all work together to take him down. If we work as a team, nothing can beat us!" Takuya said.

"Yeah! Now, let's all get on the next Trailmon and head for the Rose Morning Star!" I said.

"Yeah!" Everyone agreed.

**A/N: Okay, what did you think? I finished this at 12:30 this morning, so excuse me if it turned out way bad, I am only half awake. Please review, because I want your oppinions. :)**


	17. From Dawn to Duskmon

**A/N: Yay, two chapters in one weekend! I have been planning this chapter for a while now, so be prepared. Thanks to Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 for reviewing my last chapter. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, and I probably never will, *sigh***

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 17<br>From Dawn to Duskmon**

We sat on a Trailmon, headed for the Rose Morning Star. I was sitting across from Koji, while everyone else was on the other side of the aisle.

"Check it out, the Rose Morning Star's got to be close now." Takuya said, leaning out the window.

Tommy, Zoe, and J.P. all joined him at the window.

"But, it's midday, are the clouds supposed to be that dark?" Zoe asked.

I looked out my window and saw that the clouds ahead were dark shades of purple and black.

"Uh, hey Bokomon, what does the book have to say about this area?" Tommy asked.

"Let's see, I haven't found anything that-" He screamed as we slowed down, sending me flying from my seat onto Koji's lap.

"Why, hello there." Koji smiled at me.

I blushed and rolled my eyes as I stood up.

"Alright, who was the nimrod who slammed on the brakes?" J.P. asked.

"That'd be me, blue boy. End of the line." The Trailmon replied.

We all looked out our windows and found that we were still quite a ways from our destination.

"That can't be right, we're in the middle of nowhere." Zoe said.

"It looks like the tracks don't stop for miles." Koji said.

"How observant of you, look if I say it's the end of the line, it's the end of the line. Go on, get out, get lost." Trailmon said.

"Koji, how did you ever race with this guy?" J.P. asked.

"You can't do this, we have digirail passes." Zoe said.

"Yeah, yeah, write it down, you'll sell millions. Look, you want to go? Then go, I'm not stopping you. And I wish you the best of luck." The Trailmon said as he opened his side and tilted the seat so that we all dropped to the ground.

"I'm going to have to admit, I've been dumped before, but never quite like that." J.P. said.

"So, everyone in one piece?" Takuya asked.

"Yeah." Tommy said.

"Aren't there any normal Trailmon?" Zoe asked.

"I think I popped a waistband." Neemon said.

Koji helped me up and we brushed ourselves off.

"Bokomon?" Takuya asked.

"Welcome to the Dark Gate." Bokomon said. "That temple-like structure behind you is the Dark Gate. Through it lies the Continent of Darkness."

"Why do I get the feeling that's not a good thing?" J.P. asked.

"Is it as bad as it sounds?" Zoe asked.

"I wish I could tell you, but to be honest, I have no idea what awaits us there. It's an eerie land shrouded with utter darkness. But, the dangers that it holds are as legendary as its mysteries." Bokomon said.

"There's got to be something written in the book about it." J.P. said.

"Well, let's take a look, shall we? Continent of Darkness, chapter 12." Bokomon opened the book, showing us a black page.

"Wow, it's pitch black." Takuya said.

"How come?" Tommy asked.

"It appears that there's really no first-hand information on this place. Many a brave digimon have ventured within, but it seems none of them have ever returned to tell of its secrets. Only the foolhardy would dare enter the Continent of Darkness. We'll have to find another route to the Rose Morning Star." Bokomon said darkly.

"But, the shortest route is straight ahead. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?" Takuya asked.

Bokomon looked at him with surprise.

"Uh, I think we should take a vote." J.P. said.

"Agreed." Bokomon said.

"You know, when all of us work as a team, we've overcome some pretty tough stuff, so what's the point in backing off here and giving up?" Takuya asked.

"Yeah, and if something major happens, we can just spirit evolve." J.P. said.

"There isn't any trouble that we can't handle." Tommy said.

"Exactly, we're the six legendary warriors, and we stopped Grumblemon, and that guy was no push over." Zoe said.

"You guys know I'm in." Koji said.

"I'm not afraid of this Continent of Darkness, we have strength in numbers. Besides, if we were the first humans to transform into digimon, then we can be the first to survive this place." I said.

"Well, we took a vote, motion carry, move out!" Takuya said.

We all started walking.

I stared at the clouds, full of confidence in our ability. I could hear thunder, but that didn't scare me, not with J.P., Legendary Warrior of Thunder walking right behind me. We walked through the gate and followed the tracks.

The sounds of the forest surrounded us, causing the others to get uneasy. Koji grabbed my hand, thinking that I was also nervous, but I just smiled at him. I wasn't afraid of the forest, I had been all around the world. I lived in the mountains while I was in Utah.

"I'm wondering, do you think digimon could somehow end up being ghosts?" Tommy asked.

"What kind of question is that? Next you'll start telling ghost stories." Zoe said.

"It was a dark and stormy night, luckily, there was this terrific guy there waiting to come to your rescue." J.P. joked.

"Give me a break." Zoe said.

The wind started blowing through the trees, scaring Zoe, Tommy, Bokomon, and Neemon. They each latched onto somebody. Tommy grabbed Takuya, Zoe grabbed Koji, Neemon grabbed a tree, and Bokomon grabbed J.P.

"Tommy, it's just the wind." Takuya said.

"Hey Zoe, don't you recognize your own element?" I asked, annoyed that she was clinging to my boyfriend.

"Oh, um sorry about that." Zoe backed off.

"No problem." Koji's expression was shocked.

When Bokomon grabbed onto J.P., he tripped him, "Stop acting like my aunt Mabel's dog!" J.P. said.

"Aunt Mabel's dog would have turned tail and gone by now!" Bokomon yelled.

"We're not going back, we've all been walking for hours." Takuya said.

"Let's walk back a few hours, and then we can all get ourselves out of this poor excuse for a dark closet once and for all." Bokomon said.

"H-hey guys, something's glowing." Tommy pointed down the tracks to where something was, indeed glowing.

"I wonder what it is." I said.

"Fireflies?" J.P. suggested.

"Maybe there's a town up ahead." Koji said.

"Come on, let's check it out." Takuya said.

We walked down the tracks, toward the light. As we got closer, we all started to jog.

"Wow, look at that." Takuya said when he was the first to arrive.

I looked past him and saw glowing green moss.

"That moss is actually glowing. I wonder if it's safe to touch." Koji said.

"Let's see, sure is. We can use it to light our way!" J.P. picked some up.

We all picked some up and started walking. We were no longer on the tracks, just on bare dirt.

"Wow, this stuff works great." Tommy said.

"Look, it's a cave!" J.P. said.

The cave's walls were smooth and round.

"It's almost to perfect, like it was cut out by someone." Zoe said.

"Or dug out by some_thing." _Tommy said.

"Hey, anybody in there?" Takuya called.

"Guess not." Zoe said.

Bokomon started screaming and we all looked at him.

"Bokomon, what is it?" Takuya asked.

"I feel like this place is a ghost cavern, full of evil, ectoplasmic digi-spirits. I knew I should have stayed behind, but did I listen to myself? No." Bokomon said.

There was some rustling in the trees behind us, "Did you guys see that?" Tommy asked.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Takuya yelled.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" A high voice came back, mocking him.

"What are you, a parrot?" J.P. asked.

"What are you, a parrot?" The voice replied, and then echoed.

"Knock it off!" Tommy said.

"Knock it off!" The voice echoed.

Bokomon cried, "They'll mock us until we go insane! We're doomed, doomed I tell you!"

"Hey, I know. Beetles battle better in water!" Zoe yelled.

"Beetles battle better in water!" The voice said.

"Just as I thought." Zoe said.

"That's great, you want to clue us in?" Takuya asked.

"They're repeating what we say, so let's confuse them with tongue twisters." Zoe said.

"Okay. Six sick bricks might bring back a snack!" Takuya yelled.

"Six sick bricks might bring back a snack!" The voice said.

"Peter Piper poked and picked a pack of pickled peppers!" Tommy yelled.

"Peter Piper poked and picked a pack of pickled peppers!" The voice said.

"Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore!" I yelled.

"Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore!" The voice said.

"Toy boat, toy boat, toy boat, toy boat, toy boat, tyo, ugh!" J.P. said.

"Toy boat, toy boat, toy boat, toy boat, toy boat, tyo, ugh!" The voice repeated.

"It's no use, we can't trip them up." Tommy said.

"Oh yeah?" Koji threw a part of his moss at the trees, causing them to glow. It revealed some bat-like digimon hanging upside down on a branch.

"My goodness, those are Pipismon. They're mutant digimon whose power is greatest in the dark. They can reflect sound back exactly as it's heard." Bokomon said.

The Pipismon flew into the cave and hung onto the ceiling.

We walked in and stood below them.

"These cave-dwelling digimon are really rather gentle, even if they are a bit scary looking." Bokomon said.

"Well, just between us, I think they're kind of cute." Zoe said.

"I think they're kind of cute." The Pipismon echoed.

"I'm amazed to find peaceful digimon in such a dark place." Bokomon said.

"So, I guess it turns out you're glad you came." Takuya said.

"What?" Bokomon asked.

"You just learned something. If you hadn't come, you'd never had learned about this. It's good that you took a risk." Takuya said.

"If you're not sure about something, there's really only one way to find out. That's to take a risk and experience it for yourself." Koji said.

"Well, bless my buttons, you're right." Bokomon said.

Bless my buttons, I mouthed, but then just shrugged, I would never figure out the expressions of these digimon.

"Why don't you write it down in the book? You'll be the first digimon to chronicle the Continent of Darkness. You'll be famous." Takuya said.

"Well, I…really?" Bokomon asked.

"Sure, and since you're writing about digimon, maybe you could write about us. The true adventures of the legendary warriors. You can say how I controlled my beast spirit." Zoe suggested.

"I'd like to be mentioned. You can write about my cool hat!" Tommy said.

"And mention how fearless I am!" J.P. said.

"I wouldn't mind you writing about how I earned my tiara." I said.

"Alright, I'll do it! Today I'll begin the greatest novel of all time, The Legendary Warriors and the Continent of Darkness!" Bokomon said.

"So, will you write about me as well?" Neemon asked.

"Oh, I think not!" Bokomon snapped Neemon's waistband.

We all laughed.

"Well, a great novelist needs great material, so let's continue our journey into the unknown." Bokomon said.

"Sounds great." Takuya said.

"Let's go!" We all said together.

A tree fell down in front of us, blocking our vision.

"You's journey is about to be cut short, right." A voice came out of the dirt.

"Oh yeah, says who?" Takuya asked.

"Take a guess!" Arbormon jumped over the fallen tree.

"Not Arbormon again!" Bokomon yelled.

"Good guess. Power Pummel!" Arbormon hit all the Pipismon with his extended arms and legs. He then took their fractal codes, "Oh yeah, feel the power, baby!"

Zoe gasped and Tommy said, "No way!"

"That was an appetizer; you kids are the main course! Arbormon, Slide Evolution! Petaldramon!" Petaldramon ran at us, but ended up hitting the cave. He ran through the forest, knocking down everything that got in his way.

"Right, let's do it!" Takuya said.

"Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution!" We all said at once.

"BurningGreymon!"

"KendoGarurumon!"

"Gatowomon!"

"MetalKabuterimon!"

"Zephyrmon!"

"Korikakumon!"

"You know what I think? It's petal pulling time!" MetalKabuterimon said.

Petaldramon lashed out at us with his tongue, but we dodged and he picked up a tree instead. He ate it.

"Man, talk about getting fiber in your diet." BurningGreymon said.

Petaldramon grew bigger and bigger.

"It looks like Petaldramon is growing into a king-sized pest!" Bokomon said.

"He's cool!" Neemon said.

"He is not cool!" Bokomon snapped.

"Yo, eating good makes you grow up big and strong, right?" Petaldramon said.

"Right, Bolo Thunder!" MetalKabuterimon attacked Petaldramon, hitting him in the arm. Unfortunately, it healed almost right away.

"My turn." Petaldramon ran at MetalKabuterimon.

"Oh, boy." MetalKabuterimon said.

"Pyro Barrage!" Burning Greymon shot at him.

"Plasma Paws!" Zephyrmon attacked.

"Come here!" Petaldramon wrapped his tongue around her.

"Howling Star!" KendoGarurumon cut off Petaldramon's tongue before he could eat Zephyrmon.

"Cat Claw!" I slashed at Petaldramon's face.

He hit KendoGarurumon, Zephyrmon, and me away.

"Frozen Arrowheads!" Korikakumon wrapped his arrowheads around Petaldramon's head, but he just swung him around and into the ground.

"Thorn Jab!" Petaldramon pushed his tail into the ground and it came out and surrounded all of us except for BurningGreymon. "Leaf Cyclone!"

"Hang on, guys! Wildfire Tsunami!" BurningGreymon yelled.

The two attacks met in the middle, but the Leaf Cyclone won, sending us flying.

"Giving beast spirits to you puny humans is like giving soap to pigs, so why don't you just do yourselves a favor and hand them over?" Petaldramon asked.

BurningGreymon struggled, "Never! If you want these spirits, then you're going to have to come here, and take them!"

"Right." Petaldramon's petals started turning.

"Lupine Laser!"

"Midnight Eyes!" Our two lasers hit him before he could power up his attack.

Korikakumon grabbed his leg.

"Neutron Cannon!" MetalKabuterimon hit his tail.

Korikakumon lifted him up, and then dropped him on the ground.

"Wildfire Tsunami!"

"Hurricane Gale!" The two attacks mixed together before hitting Petaldramon.

Petaldramon's fractal code appeared as he groaned in pain.

"KendoGarurumon, Slide Evolution! Lobomon! Petaldramon, it's kindling time. Fractal code, digitize!" Lobomon took Petaldramon's beast spirit, turning him back into Arbormon.

"Lobomon did it!" Bokomon cheered.

"Now _he's_ cool!" Neemon exclaimed.

"Arbormon, now will you give up attacking us?" BurningGreymon asked.

"Well, uh…" Arbormon started.

"Yes, he will." A dark figure came out of the forest. He had black armor with eyeballs all over. He had skulls instead of hands and a skull mask with three eyeholes. He had long blond hair.

"Duskmon." Arbormon said.

"Who is that?" Zephyrmon asked the question that we were all thinking.

"Well, here comes the cavalry, a friend in need's a friend in need, right?" Arbormon said.

"Wrong, with your beast spirit gone, there's really no use for you now, is there?" A sword came out of his left "hand" and he raised it. He slashed at Arbormon from twenty feet away, yet still managed to cut him down.

"Yesterday's ally is today's enemy!" Arbormon screamed.

We all stared as this new enemy took our old enemy's fractal code.

I swallowed, this was going to be a very hard battle.

"Who is this guy?" BurningGreymon asked.

He laughed evilly, "I am Duskmon, Legendary Warrior of Darkness."

I gasped, "That can't be." I whispered.

Lobomon shot me a confused expression, but I just shook my head. The Legendary Warrior of Darkness was supposed to be Loweemon, not Duskmon. Who was this guy? And what happened to Loweemon?

"You have done well against my brethren; let's see how strong you really are. Show me your power." Duskmon swung his sword at us, but we dodged. We looked at the trail in the dirt that the sword had made.

"All he did was swing his sword!" Korikakumon said.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Zephyrmon said.

"Come on, there's only one of him. If we defeated Grumblemon and Petaldramon, then laughing boy over there should be a piece of cake. Remember, we're legendary warriors." BurningGreymon said.

"Right." MetalKabuterimon said.

"There's no way we can lose!" BurningGreymon said as he rushed at Duskmon.

"Bolo Thunder!" MetalKabuterimon shot at Duskmon.

While the dust was up in the air, I snuck around the back for a surprise attack after BurningGreymon attacked. I could hear him laughing.

"Laugh at this!" I heard BurningGreymon yell.

The fog cleared when Duskmon threw BurningGreymon out of his way.

"Takuya!" Everyone gathered around him, but I stayed hidden.

"You are weaker than I thought. I should at least give you the chance to surrender." Duskmon said.

"You can give it, but we won't take it." Lobomon replied.

"You are proving to be very foolish creatures." Duskmon said.

"J.P., Tommy, switch to your human spirits." Lobomon ordered.

"Right, Slide Evolution!" The changed into Beetlemon and Kumamon.

"Let's go!" Lobomon said.

"Lobo Kendo!" Lobomon attacked with his sword, but Duskmon easily blocked it.

"Each of your attacks seems to get weaker, not stronger." Duskmon said. That's when I noticed that the eyes on his body weren't even looking at the others, they were looking at me. Staring straight at me, as if he wasn't fighting anyone else at the moment. I shuddered. His eyes hungrily stared at my body. He was just toying with the others as they attacked, and it scared me to death.

I shook it off; I had to help the others. His back was turned to me because of Lobomon's attack. "Cat Claw!" I slashed at his back, barely leaving a scratch on his thick armor. He pushed Lobomon off him and slashed at me with his sword, which I did a back flip to avoid.

He laughed, this time even more evilly than before. It made even the beast inside me want to run and hide. "You can't run forever, _Princess." _He mocked.

I hissed at him, nobody gets to call me that, except Koji, unless they were using it as my title, which Duskmon obviously wasn't.

He sent a quick attack at the others, clouding our vision with dust. He then snapped his fingers. I sensed someone approaching me from behind, but before I could turn, my arms were grabbed from behind and I was being pulled back, towards the woods. If they accomplished their goal, then my friends would never know what happened to me. I looked behind me to my right and saw Ranamon, to my left was Mercurymon.

I dug my shoes into the ground, but they only pulled at my arms harder. I put my whole body weight into leaning forward. Soon, they were pulling as hard as they could. I knew that my body was going to give very soon, so I put all my strength into pushing forward, then let go. This caught them off guard, and they let go. I saw that I was headed straight for a tree, so I twisted my body so that my feet were the first things to hit the tree. I bent my legs with my landing and launched myself back at Ranamon and Mercurymon.

"Cat Claw!" I slashed at both of them. I hit Ranamon in the face and Mercurymon in the shoulder. They both cried out in pain. The ground was approaching fast, so I pushed off with my front paws and flipped so that my feet landed on the ground. My momentum was so high that I left skid marks in the dirt.

"Jade!" Lobomon called when he heard me yell my attack. I could hear his feet pounding as they ran through the dust.

"Get her out of here!" Duskmon yelled.

"Fine, Drainin' Rain!" Ranamon sent the attack over me, swiftly draining my energy.

"No fair." I complained as I fell to the ground.

Mercurymon threw me over his shoulder and started running, with Ranamon behind us.

"Jade!" Lobomon yelled when he saw them running away with me.

"You shouldn't be focusing on them; you should be focusing on me!" Duskmon said as he flew up into the air and focused his eyes on Lobomon. "Deadly Gaze!" Red lasers shot out of his eyes and knocked my friends back.

"Lobomon!" I yelled, but my energy was so far gone that I turned back into a human and drifted into unconsciousness.

**A/N: Rika's voice:"Where are they taking Jade, and what do they want with her? Find out next time on The Warrior of Hope!"**

**Me: Okay, what did you think? I thought that it was pretty good, but I'm biased. I worked really hard on this, so I really want to know your oppinion of it, so please review. :)**


	18. Darkest Before Duskmon

**A/N: Wow, I am really on a roll tonight. Thanks to Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 and Ebonywolf7 for reviewing my last chapter. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 18<br>Darkest Before Duskmon**

I opened my eyes and found myself deep in the forest in the Continent of Darkness. I was all alone. I started walking, not knowing what else to do. I came through a thick patch of trees only to find myself looking at Koji. He was standing alone in the middle of a clearing. He wasn't looking at me. He looked very different. His heir was cut just above his shoulders. He was wearing a green collared shirt over a red long sleeved shirt, white pants, and green and yellow shoes.

"Koji!" I yelled, but he didn't look up. "Koji, what's wrong?"

He didn't answer me, just continued staring at the ground. Suddenly, he was yelling, "Am I nothing? Is that why you never noticed me? You had everything, and we had nothing! How could you do that to us? I hate you!"

I stumbled backward, surprised by his outburst. My eyes filled with tears, "Koji, what are you talking about? I-I always noticed you. Please, just look at me and tell me what's wrong."

He closed his eyes, "I give up. You won't ever care, and I can't follow you around waiting for you to notice me. I'm done." He turned around and started walking away.

"Wait, don't leave me! I care about you! I have noticed you since the first time we met! No!" I tried to run after him, but my body was in shock. I couldn't move my legs. I just watched as he disappeared into the trees. "No, Koji, I love you!" I shocked myself even more by my own outburst.

"_Jade, it's time for you to wake up." _A voice came from inside my head.

"What?" I blinked and the dream disappeared.

I looked around and found that I was in a dungeon. I could see my own body slumped to the floor. I was chained to the wall. I quickly walked over to myself, and sighed in relief when I saw myself breathe. I was about to bite my finger, my usually thinking position, when I noticed that my left hand was a claw. That's when I realized that I was DeviAngewomon. Actually, I was only the spirit of DeviAngewomon.

"_You're finally catching on." _The voice in my head said.

"Who are you?" I asked out loud.

"_I am the Warrior of Hope. I am also the former Princess of the Digital World, but you can just call me Hope. I am trying to show you a skill that you have while in the digital world." _The voice said.

"Is that skill coming out of my body while I'm asleep?" I asked.

"_Yes, it is not something that you can control, but when someone you care about is in danger, you can watch over them in this state. You can't talk or interact with them, but you can lend them your strength, though I don't suggest it while you are so weak from today's fight." _Hope told me.

"Are my friends in danger of being attacked by Duskmon?" I asked.

"_Yes, they are trying to recover from the fight, but they don't know what to do. Let's go and watch." _As soon as Hope stopped talking, we were transported to a campsite. J.P. and Zoe were sitting around the fire. I couldn't see anyone else. They were having a very deep conversation.

"This world can be tough, but we've learned a lot here." J.P. was saying.

"J.P., I'm worried about Koji and Takuya." Zoe said.

"What are you worried about did something happen?" I practically yelled.

"_They can't hear you." _Hope reminded me. I frowned and started listening again.

"How so?" J.P. asked.

"Well, that fight they got into." Zoe said.

"I wouldn't worry about it." J.P. told her.

"Why?" Zoe asked.

"When you spend as much time together as we do, there's bound to be friction. Besides, if Takuya weren't so hot-headed and Koji were less calculating, we wouldn't be complete, you know?" J.P. said.

"No." Zoe said.

"It's the combination of all of our differences that make us such a good team. We balance each other. Seriously, can you imagine what it'd be like if we had two Takuyas?" J.P. asked.

"Two Takuyas, huh…" I could tell that Zoe was imagining it.

"Yeah, see what I mean?" J.P. asked.

"It's not a pretty picture, is it?" Zoe asked.

"And believe me, it would be the same with two Kojis in the group." J.P. said. Zoe started to imagine it, "You don't have to imagine it, you know."

Zoe sighed in relief, "That's a load off my mind."

"In a way, we're all balanced like this fire is." J.P. said.

"Okay, you lost me. Just how is a fire balanced?" Zoe asked.

"Well, a fire's made up of parts, just like our group is. You need something that'll burn, but the fire also has to have oxygen from the air, or it'll go out. If the wood's too tight, the fire smothers, too loose and the fire won't even start, balance." J.P. explained.

"You know something?" Zoe was looking at him thoughtfully.

"Huh?" J.P. asked.

"There's more to you than I thought." Zoe said.

J.P. smiled, "You should hear my thoughts on love."

"Dude, you totally just ruined the moment!" I laughed.

He turned towards Zoe, "I think-"

Zoe put her hand in his face, "I think I'll take a pass on that."

"Okie doke." J.P. said.

"_Let's go see your other friends." _Hope said.

"When is Duskmon going to attack? Will it be soon?" I asked after we were transported to where Tommy and Takuya were talking.

"_I do not know. I am no longer in tune with the Spirit of Darkness. He has been corrupted by evil." _Hope said sadly.

I nodded and then listened to the conversation.

"You know, you worry too much, buddy. Once we put my new plan into action, we'll take that guy out in one shot, he won't know what hit him." Takuya was saying.

"Will we be able to save Jade?" Tommy asked.

Takuya smiled, "Of course we will. There is no way that Duskmon is getting away with that."

Tommy smiled, "You're right."

I frowned, "How can you be so confident? Do you not realize that Duskmon was only playing with you? You need to learn a lesson Takuya, and fast."

"_You're right, but it can't be helped. Let's see what the Warrior of Light has to say about all this." _Hope suggested before we were transported to a river.

Koji was leaning against a rock wall while Neemon and Bokomon were getting water. Bokomon and Neemon were talking, and Koji was whispering to himself.

"This is all my fault. If I had kept her close to me, this would have never happened." Koji looked up to the sky, "Jade, I am so sorry for failing you. I know that I couldn't have helped you, but I shouldn't have left you. You are our Princess, and you should be the one that we take care of first." Koji sighed, "Now you're all alone with those evil people, and who knows what's happening."

I tried to caress his face with my hand, but I just went right through him. "Oh Koji, it's not your fault, it's mine. I should have been more careful. I don't regret the fact that you got away and I didn't. I'm not important compared to the digital world's only hope, the legendary warriors. Though I am a legendary warrior, I am not included in that group because I am also the princess. My job is to protect this land. I hope that you understand."

"_You're right, but he is right also. Your warriors should have protected you." _Hope said.

"It's not their fault, I was expecting the real Warrior of Darkness, yet I got Duskmon. If I hadn't been so shocked, I would have thought more carefully. Plus, we weren't expecting anyone to kidnap me. It has never been attempted before, so why would it happen now?" I explained.

"_Now that Duskmon is fighting, he wants you to be on their side. He knows that you have power over the Digital World, and he wants to use that." _Hope said.

I sighed, "Sometimes I hate being the Princess." I looked around and realized that Koji, Bokomon, and Neemon were gone. "Where did they go?"

"_Back to the campfire." _Hope said as we were transported there.

"How long did it take you to come up with attack all at once, a second?" Zoe asked.

"That's his big plan?" I asked.

"_Apparently." _Hope said.

"Yeah, we tried that already, remember?" J.P. asked.

"Now, now, now, I realize it may look like the same plan, but once I lay it out for you, you'll see plenty of differences." Takuya said.

Tommy nodded in agreement.

"Alright Tommy, show them the plan." Takuya said.

"One plan, coming up." Tommy said. He got out a few figurines and set them up, "Now, say this is Duskmon."

"Wow Tommy, did you make that?" Zoe asked. Tommy nodded.

"Wow, it looks just like him." J.P. said.

"I helped too, you know. Now, back to the plan, I'll spirit evolve to Agunimon to stop him." Takuya said.

"Do I get my own doll too?" Zoe asked.

"Yeah, I want one." J.P. said.

They held up five more dolls, "I wouldn't leave you out, everyone's in the plan, so everyone gets one. But, let's get back to _my _idea."

"Who is the fifth doll for?" Zoe asked.

"It's Jade's, because we didn't want her to be left out, even though she's not here." Tommy said and everyone looked away sadly. Koji's hands became fists as he looked at the ground.

"Okay, so as I stop him, everyone will be beast spirit evolved, then MetalKabuterimon and Korikakumon will move in. Zephyrmon and KendoGarurumon will sneak up on his flank. Then, when _I_ give the signal, we'll all attack." Takuya knocked over the Duskmon doll. "And that's that. So, any questions?"

"Just one, when do we get going?" Tommy asked.

"I'm in shock, that looks like it might really work." Zoe said.

"I don't know, there's still a big problem." J.P. said.

"What do you mean? Where is there a problem?" Takuya asked.

"Oh yeah, how do you plan on stopping Duskmon?" Zoe asked.

"I mean, he knocked you all over the place last time, and that was your beast spirit." J.P. pointed out.

"Yeah, well last time I wasn't on guard, this time I'll know what to expect." Takuya said. Tommy nodded in agreement.

"He sure is confident." Neemon said.

"A little too confident." I muttered.

"I don't like it." Koji said.

"Aw, what's the matter? Not enough running away for you?" Takuya mocked. "I can't believe him. When did he become such a chicken?" I wanted to punch Takuya for that comment.

"Duskmon's different from anyone we've ever fought before. Instead of fighting, we should-" Koji was interrupted.

"Wait, you're not really thinking of running away, are you?" Takuya asked.

"Yes, I am." Koji said.

"You're pathetic! What makes you think that we'd be able to get away even if we wanted to?" Takuya asked.

"Come on, don't fight." Tommy said.

"Takuya, let's talk." Koji said as he walked away from the group.

"Yeah, let's." Takuya followed him.

"Guys, don't do anything stupid." Zoe said.

"Don't worry, we're just going to talk." Koji said.

"Yeah, if he's lucky, that's all we'll do." Takuya said.

I followed after them, wanting to hear what they had to say. They walked into the stone building near the campsite. They walked all the way down to the basement.

"Alright, so start talking." Takuya said.

"Why do you think you're here, Takuya?" Koji asked. When Takuya didn't answer, "Answer me, I want to know why you're here."

"Well, you know, we're here to save the world." Takuya said unsurely.

"You say that like you don't know what that means, what's at stake. This isn't just some video game you can walk away from if things don't work out." Koji said.

"I'm not stupid you know, I know that!" Takuya said.

"Sometimes I really don't think you do. There's no second chances for us, get it? If we mess up here, it's over." Koji said.

"Y-yeah, I know." Takuya was starting to doubt himself.

"Then how can you stake our lives on some plan that you only assume is going to work? We don't know anything about this guy!" Koji said.

"So, what? We'll all be safe if we run away?" Takuya asked.

Koji groaned, "I didn't say that!"

"Then what are you saying?" Takuya asked.

Koji grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him up against the wall, "Listen Takuya, You weren't there when I crossed swords with him, okay? I doubt he was using even half his strength against me! That whole fight, all he was doing was playing with us!"

"Yeah, okay, maybe, but we're the good guys, there must be a way to win." Takuya said.

"He's too strong." Koji said.

"I know he's strong, but every time we've run into someone more powerful than us, we've worked together and everything just turned out fine! I really believe that if we just attack as one, we can't lose!" Takuya said.

"Takuya, open your eyes." Koji said.

"Open your own eyes, we're more powerful together than you think!" Takuya said.

They glared at each other for a while, then Koji let him go and closed his eyes, "You just don't get it, do you? Tell me something, it's obvious you don't care about yourself, but can you promise me the others won't get hurt? Because if you can't, then you might as well just go home now, because I won't let you risk their lives. We already lost Jade, because we were careless, could you forgive yourself if someone else got hurt because of _your _plan?"

The building started shaking and I looked around in alarm, "He's here!"

"An earthquake?" Takuya asked.

"No, it's him." Koji said.

"Oh no, this is bad." I said.

"_You don't believe that they can do it?" _Hope asked.

"Of course they can't do it. They aren't powerful enough. Sure, they might do a little damage, but they can't actually defeat him. Maybe if I give them my power…" I said.

"_No, you are too weak. If you give them your power, you could die. How would you escape your imprisonment if you couldn't even stand?" _Hope asked.

I sighed, "Fine, but I will watch this fight. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something bad happened and I turned away because I was too afraid to watch."

The guys started running up the stairs and I flew after them.

"I guess we couldn't have run away from this guy, even if we wanted to, _Koji." _Takuya said.

Koji didn't reply, just ran. When we got a little closer, they both got their D-Tectors out, "Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution!" Koji digivolved into KendoGarurumon.

"Execute, Spirit Evolution!" Takuya yelled before he digivolved into Agunimon. They were now next to the others, who were all digivolved to their beast spirits. "This is it guys, attack!" Agunimon charged.

"Wait!" KendoGarurumon yelled.

"I guess we have to follow Takuya's plan now." MetalKabuterimon said.

"Hey don't worry, it's a good plan." Korikakumon said.

"Let's hope so." KendoGarurumon said.

"You're nothing against all of us together, Duskmon. So, you want to fight?" Agunimon said and then launched fire out of his fists.

Duskmon dodged it effortlessly.

"Alright speedy, dodge this! Pyro Tornado!" Agunimon said. He kicked Duskmon in the face.

Duskmon started to laugh. It was really creepy. "You fool, did you learn nothing from our last meeting?"

"No, I can't lose." Agunimon ran at Duskmon, punching him like crazy.

"Are you finished?" Duskmon asked calmly.

"He's so strong." Agunimon went in for another punch, then went around and held Duskmon from behind, "Attack now!"

"That's our cue." Zephyrmon said.

"Right." The boys said.

The Legendary Warriors surrounded Duskmon.

"It's over Duskmon, you're finished! Let him have it!" Agunimon yelled. Everyone attacked at once as Agunimon jumped out of the way. There was a huge multi-colored explosion.

Since I was only a spirit, I found nothing wrong with standing inside the explosion, looking at the bored expression on Duskmon's face. "No, this is horrible. They won't be prepared for an attack. They could get majorly hurt!"

"_I'm sorry, but you can't do anything. This may be painful to watch, but maybe you can learn something from this." _Hope said.

The colors disappeared, revealing Duskmon, who wasn't even hurt.

"It's not possible!" Agunimon said.

Duskmon turned to look at him, "You shall be first." He practically disappeared and reappeared in front of Agunimon.

"No." KendoGarurumon said.

Duskmon lifted his sword. Agunimon closed his eyes. Duskmon brought down his sword on…Koji.

"Koji!" Everyone yelled.

"Koji! No, no, no, why did it have to be Koji?" I was yelling.

Koji was lying on the ground.

"Koji." Agunimon knelt down beside him.

"K-Koji?" Duskmon whispered, just loud enough for me to hear.

"Koji, why?" Agunimon asked. "Koji!"

Duskmon started to back up, "What? What is it?"

"What's wrong with him?" Zephyrmon asked.

"I don't know, he's acting weird." Korikakumon said.

"No kidding!" MetalKabuterimon said.

"What is happening?" Duskmon asked.

"This, this is all my fault. Oh, Koji. Koji!" Agunimon said.

Duskmon was yelling, "Koji!" A black shadow surrounded him and everything disappeared.

"Koji! What's going on Hope? Where did everybody go?" I asked.

"_You are waking up. Be strong, escape your prison so that you can help them!" _Hope's voice faded.

A female voice disturbed me, "Please, wake up. You're having a bad dream, Princess."

I opened my eyes to see the face of a cat. It looked exactly like Gatomon, except it was black and purple instead of white and purple and it was missing a holy ring.

I blinked, "Who are you?"

The cat bowed, "I am BlackGatomon, and I am here to serve your food, Princess."

I nodded, "You don't have to call me Princess, you can call me Jade."

BlackGatomon blinked in surprise, "I thought that only your friends called you by your first name."

I smiled, "You are my friend, you saved me from my bad dream."

BlackGatomon blushed, "Thank you, Princess, I mean, Jade. Listen, everyone is gone, so now would be the purrfect time to break out."

I felt the cuffs digging into my hands, "I can't, I'm chained to the wall."

"Well, I might just accidentally break your chains." BlackGatomon winked at me.

I smiled, "Thank you so much. You should come with me, I wouldn't want you to get in any trouble. They might hurt you."

"I would love to come with you, but we have to hurry." She said.

I nodded, "Right."

"Lightning Kick!" BlackGatomon kicked the chains and they broke. I still had the cuffs around my wrists, but now I could escape.

"Let's get out of here." I said.

"Through here." BlackGatomon led me out the door and into the room that the evil Legendary Warriors hung out in. It was completely empty.

"Wait, where's my D-Tector?" I asked, looking around the room.

"Your what?" She asked.

"The device that helps me digivolve." I said.

"I have no idea. We should probably find it." She said.

We looked everywhere in the room, but we still didn't find it. "Where could it be?"

"It could be in _his _room." BlackGatomon said.

"You mean Duskmon's room?" I asked.

BlackGatomon nodded, "He would want to keep it close to him. He wants you on their side."

I looked at her, "Weren't you on their side?"

"I was, but then I found out that the Princess was back. I couldn't believe it. Then, when they chained you up, I got really mad. My species was always close to the Princess, all those years ago. Mostly it was the Gatomon who got close to her, but some BlackGatomon were always with her too." BlackGatomon explained.

I nodded, "I resemble hope, and hope can go both ways, light and darkness."

She nodded, "We should find your D-Tector." She led me into the darkest place I had ever seen. There was only one piece of furniture in the whole room, a bed.

"Where would it be?" I asked.

"What are you doing in here?" I looked behind me to see Duskmon leaning against the door, glaring at me.

"Duskmon!" I tried to run past him, but he just picked me up.

"Lightning Paw!" BlackGatomon hit Duskmon in the face, doing little damage.

"You pesky little traitor, get off me." Duskmon said and then he threw BlackGatomon into the wall. She fell to the floor.

"BlackGatomon! Let me go, Duskmon!" I yelled.

He dropped me and I landed in a crouch. I ran over to BlackGatomon and knelt beside her, "Are you okay?"

BlackGatomon shook her head, "I'm only champion level, I can't fight him, but you can. I'm giving you my strength, so kick his butt!"

A bright purple light came out of her and towards me. My D-Tector flew out from under Duskmon's pillow and landed in my hand. The purple light went into my D-Tector and then surrounded me. I looked to my left and saw the spirit of DeviAngewomon. On my right was the spirit of Gatowomon. I could feel them come together to make a new digivolution.

"Execute, Fusion Evolution!" I felt long, black hair grow down to my waist, black cat ears with purple tips grew on my head, a black and purple tail grew, my eyes turned yellow, fangs grew from my mouth, black, tattered wings grow out of my back, and whiskers appeared on my cheeks. I was wearing purple and red striped gloves with black cat claws, a black version of the mask I wore as Gatowomon, a low-cut black dress with long sleeves that went down to mid-thigh, black ankle boots, and a chain belt. "LadyBlackGatowomon!"

Duskmon stared at me in shock, "How were _you_ able to digivolve into something new?"

I glared at him, "I have strength that you'll never have. The strength of being loved. BlackGatomon gave her life for me. The love that she had for her Princess was so great, that I was able to digivolve into this combination of my two spirits."

"So now you're even more powerful? That just makes you more desirable." Duskmon advanced towards me.

I was about to take a step back, then I remembered what he did to Koji, "I will never be on your side, you are filled with evil, and that is something that I will never be."

"Can you not feel our dark energy coming together as we get closer? We were obviously meant to be partners." Duskmon said as he took another step towards me.

I could feel the energy. It was dark, filling the room completely. But, there was also light. The light from my love of Koji. _Oh God, did I just say love? That word just kept on coming up today, rocking me to my core._ My shock made me freeze. _I'm in love with Koji?_ My thoughts made me forget about Duskmon until he was only a couple inches away, looking me straight in the eye.

"I see that you feel it too. It confuses you, but let me show you what it means." The lower part of his mask disappeared, revealing the human face beneath. He closed the distance between us hesitantly, as if he didn't want to scare me off. I was completely shocked by his approach. I had expected force, not kissing me. Soon, his lips were brushing against mine and his arms were holding my body to him. I stiffened; I didn't like him in my personal space like this. I tried to pull away, but he just held my tighter, his arms becoming prison bars. I glared at him, but he seemed lost in the kiss. So, I used my new powers.

"Poison Fang!" My fangs lengthened slightly and I turned my head to bite his now exposed neck. I felt my poison that would take his energy and make him fall asleep flow into his blood stream.

He looked at me in surprise, "Why?"

I glared back, "Because I don't like to be forced to like someone."

He collapsed, asleep before he even hit the ground. I smirked down at him, "Sweet dreams."

I ran out of the evil headquarters, following the way that we had come in. Once outside, I took to the sky, following my instincts to find my fellow Legendary Warriors.

I found Zoe, Tommy, and J.P. chained to a wall and being tortured by Ranamon. Behind a barrier, some Datamon were hitting their D-Tectors. Mercurymon was just standing around, looking pleased with himself.

"Dark Vapor!" Ranamon surrounded J.P. with a dark mist.

"Stop it!" Tommy yelled.

"Leave him alone!" Zoe yelled.

"Oh man, this has got to be a dream, a really bad dream!" J.P. yelled. J.P. cried out in pain.

"Stop, okay, we'll talk!" Zoe yelled.

"I have to help!" I rush at Ranamon, "Wicked Claws!" My claws lengthened and I slashed the air in front of me, causing a red mark to appear in the air and head straight for Ranamon. It hit her right on and sent her flying back.

She was very angry when she stood up, "I don't believe that we invited you to this party. Who are you? Sugar, I don't think that you have any idea who you're messing with!" Ranamon said.

"Actually, Sugar, I think I do." I mocked her.

"Sugar, you are going to regret that! Drainin' Rain!" Ranamon sent her storm cloud at me.

I quickly avoided the attack, but the cloud just kept following me.

"Execute, Spirit Evolution! Lobomon!" I heard from behind me just before Lobomon appeared from behind a rock. He kicked Ranamon so that her attack disappeared.

"That is no way to treat a lady! Didn't your parents teach you any better?" Ranamon complained.

"And so, the fourth hath joined us." Mercurymon said, coming up behind Lobomon.

I was fine with them not knowing who I was. "Ah, but you forget that I'm still here.

"Ah, yes, the mysterious digimon who appeared out of nowhere, I am very curious as to who you are." Mercurymon said.

"You may call me LadyBlackGatowomon." I said.

"What quarrel do you have with us?" Mercurymon asked.

"I just hate to see you torturing innocent people." I replied.

"How does thou know that they are innocent?" Mercurymon asked.

My eyes flashed, "Because, they are just children, and I know that you two serve under Cherubimon, who is evil. Who else would you be torturing but innocent people?" It was only a half lie, because I knew that my friends weren't just children, they were legendary warriors.

"Enough talk!" Lobomon said.

I nodded, "Wicked Claws!" I sent this attack at Ranamon, wanting to get her out of the way before I had to face Mercurymon, but she moved so that I only hit her arm.

"Sugar, you have made me very angry!" Ranamon said.

"Lobo Kendo!" Lobomon attacked Mercurymon.

"I think not, Dark Reflection!" Mercurymon blocked his attack with his mirrors and sent it back at him.

"Lobomon!" I yelled.

"Sugar, you are really bad at this, Dark Vapor!" Ranamon said.

I quickly avoided the mist, "You really need some new attacks."

"Fine, Ranamon, Slide Evolution! Calmaramon!" She looked especially ugly with the dark clouds behind her.

"Wow, you really are ugly. Let me help you with that, Demonic Shock!" I created a ball filled with dark energy and sent it flying at her. It hit her right in the stomach.

"Honey, you will regret that, Acid Ink!" She hit my arm and I hissed. She grabbed me with her tentacle. She walked over to where Lobomon was on the roof from Mercurymon's attack and picked him up in one of her other tentacles.

She slammed us both into the roof, causing it to break and sending us down to the ground inside the building.

They both came down, but Calmaramon had transformed back into Ranamon.

"Don't tell me that you're done playing with me." Ranamon said.

"Maybe they need a bit of refreshment." Mercurymon suggested.

"You are so thoughtful, two drinks of water, coming right up. Drainin' Rain!" Ranamon laughed as the water poured down on us. The water filled up the building, until we were forced out the door by the pressure.

"Have you no control?" Mercurymon yelled at Ranamon.

"Why are you mad at me? It was you idea." Ranamon said.

"Ugh, I'm surrounded by buffoons." Mercurymon said.

I struggled to my feet as Mercurymon walked towards us.

"Lobomon!" J.P. yelled.

"Give me your best shot." Lobomon said.

"As you wish." Mercurymon hit Lobomon in the face, sending him backward.

"Leave him alone!" I said, glaring at Mercurymon.

"Still have strength, do we? I'll fix that right now." Before Mercurymon could make a move against me, a storm started.

The sky was filled with thunder, lightning, strong winds, and then it started snowing. I looked around in confusion.

As I was distracted, Mercurymon punched me in the face. "You wretch, pay attention to our battle."

"Fine, Demonic Shock!" I sent the ball of dark energy at him.

He laughed as he brought up his mirrors, "Dark Reflection!"

I flew back and hit the bottom of the rock that my friends were attached. I groaned in pain.

Mercurymon then picked up Lobomon and hit him against the wall, "Have you had enough?"

"Leave him alone!" My other friends shouted.

I heard yelling and looked up to see Agunimon running through the snow at Mercurymon.

"At last, the last player hath arrived." Mercurymon said.

"Then let's get this show on the road!" Ranamon said as she ran towards Agunimon.

"Pyro Darts!" Agunimon shot his darts at Ranamon's feet.

"Missed me, missed me, now you got to k-" She was cut off by his darts hitting her in the stomach, knocking her back.

"Thanks, but no thanks." Agunimon said.

"That little whelp is much stronger than I remember." Mercurymon said.

"Pyro Tornado!" He completely missed Mercurymon, but hit one of the supports for the barrier that held the Datamon and the others' D-Tectors.

"Now Lobomon, free the others!" Agunimon said.

"Lobo Kendo!" Lobomon used his sword to free the others.

"Alright guys, it's your turn." Agunimon told them as they each caught their D-Tectors.

"Execute, Spirit Evolution!" They all said at once.

"Beetlemon!"

"Kazemon!"

"Kumamon!"

I couldn't stand next to my fellow warriors, I wasn't strong enough.

"Ah, isn't this sweet, together at last, I love reunions." Mercurymon laughed. "It appears it's time for the final act of our little play."

"I should put on something more appropriate." Ranamon said. "Ranamon, Slide Evolution! Calmaramon!"

"You don't really think you can win, haven't you heard, it's not nice to mess with Mother Nature!"

We all attacked at once.

"Let's finish this, Thunder Fist!" Beetlemon hit the ground and the shock went up Calmaramon's body.

"Tempest Twist!" Kazemon kicked her back into the dirt.

"What is going on?" Mercurymon asked.

"Blizzard Blaster!" Kumamon froze Mercurymon's legs.

"Lobo Kendo!" Lobomon hit Mercurymon's mirror shields, but still managed to send him back onto the ground.

"How did ya'll get so strong?" Calmaramon asked.

"We have a stronger ally then you could ever imagine!" Agunimon said.

"They're using the forces of mother nature to amplify their attacks. The master will be displeased." Mercurymon said.

"Forget the master, what about us?" Calmaramon asked.

"Will you stop sniffling, woman!" Mercurymon complained.

"You won't defeat us ever again!" Agunimon sent flames shooting at them.

"Well, now what do we do?" Calmaramon asked as my friends started walking towards them again.

"Retreat and regroup." Mercurymon answered, and then disappeared into his mirrors.

"You little brats, this isn't over!" Calmaramon yelled as she fled.

My friends cheered when she was out of sight.

"Hey Koji, what happened to that digimon who tried to help you?" Kazemon asked.

Everyone turned around and ran toward me.

I was talking to myself, "Why am I still so weak? Even after all this, I was no help to the others."

"Excuse me, but I'd like to thank you for trying to help me." Lobomon said.

I looked up at him, "Trying to help you…"

"Are you okay?" Kazemon asked.

"No, I'm weak, and I couldn't do anything to help!" I yelled.

Everyone looked uncomfortable.

I sighed, and then realized that I just needed a hug, so I quickly pulled Lobomon into my arms.

He stiffened, "What are you…"

He stopped when everyone suddenly turned back to normal.

He blinked, "Jade?"

I put my head on his shoulder, "Yeah."

"Jade!" Everyone else yelled. They gathered around me and started asking questions.

"Are you okay?"

"What happened?"

"Did they hurt you?"

I held up my hands as I pulled away from Koji, "Let me talk." I told them what happened, leaving out the beginning of my dream where I was in the forest with Koji.

"Wow, so BlackGatomon gave you the power to digivolve into something new?" Bokomon asked.

I nodded, "Yeah."

"Well, I'm just glad that you're okay." Koji said as he took my hand.

I smiled, "Yeah, same for you."

"Anyway, I'm so sorry you guys, this was all my fault." Takuya said.

"What are you talking about? You're the one who rescued us." Zoe said.

"But-" Takuya started.

"It's okay, Takuya. We were worried about you, but I knew you'd come through." Tommy said.

"I guess I really owe you guys, Koji, and Jade." J.P. said.

I shook my head.

"Nah, all of us really owe Takuya, you've really changed." Koji said.

"Yeah, I hardly recognize myself." Takuya said. "I don't feel like a kid anymore. I think I finally understand what being a digimon is all about. We're in for an amazing ride, all of us."

**A/N: Jade's personality is really coming clearer, don't you think? Please review. :)**


	19. Alone But Never Alone

**A/N: Here it is, chapter 19. I would just like to thank Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967, Ebonywolf7, Latina shewolf, EclipseStripe, and Taeniaea for reviewing my last chapter. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. :(**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 19<br>Alone But Never Alone**

We were walking toward the Rose Morning Star, but I was lost in thought. Why was I so weak, even with my fusion evolution? It made no sense. When I was attacking Duskmon, I was filled with power, but when I faced Calamaramon, I could barely harm her. It was like solving a puzzle without knowing what the product would look like; I had no idea what to think.

"Are you okay?" Koji asked me. We were at the back of the group. I knew that the others weren't paying attention, so I decided to tell him about my dream.

I shook my head, "Actually, I have something to tell you about."

"What is it?" Koji asked.

I told him about the dream, how different he looked, what he said, only leaving off the part where I said that I loved him. "So, what do you think that it means?" I asked.

Koji thought about it, "I have no idea, but I don't think that I was talking to you, if it even was me. He was obviously talking about someone who he followed around, who wouldn't even give him a second glance. I feel bad for the guy. But, at the same time, he wasn't only talking about himself. He spoke of him and others not having whatever the other person had."

I nodded, "That makes sense." Inside, I was relieved.

Koji noticed, "Don't worry; I won't ever do that to you. I care about you too much to hurt you like that." He grabbed my hand and smiled at me.

I smiled back, "Thanks, Koji."

Bokomon and Neemon, who were at the front of the group, stopped and turned to look at everybody, "Thank heavens you're back together again. So, is everybody ready to go?"

"But, where are we going, Bokomon?" Neemon asked.

"You're going to follow me, and stop asking ridiculous questions." Bokomon told him.

"Next stop, the Rose Morning Star, right?" J.P. asked. "I'm the leader, follow me, everybody."

We all looked at him for a second, then shrugged and followed.

"1, 2, 3, 4, follow me as we explore! 5 and 6 and 7 and 8, I cannot stand an empty plate!" J.P. chanted.

"Who elected him? Not exactly inspirational as a leader." Takuya remarked.

"Looks like he's just showing off, to me." Zoe said.

"What if we don't want to see what he's showing?" Koji joked.

"I want a turn being the leader!" Tommy said.

"I don't know, leadership takes independence, you ready for that?" Takuya asked.

"Hey, J.P. depends on chocolate, and that didn't stop him!" Tommy said.

I laughed, and then thought about depending on people. I depended on my fellow legendary warriors a lot more than I should. Is that why I'm so weak? No, that makes no sense. If I was so weak, then why would Duskmon want me on the side of evil? It made no sense. Maybe because a lot of digimon looked up to me, and he thought that I was weak enough to be controlled…

Suddenly, the ground in front of us split, separating us from Bokomon and Neemon and creating a terrible wind. We went flying into the air, and I closed my eyes. I opened them when I hit the ground, or, more accurately, when I hit Koji.

He grunted when I landed.

I hurried to get up, "Koji, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just perfect." He replied. He stood up with a wince, but other than that seemed fine.

"Do you mind? Get off me!" Zoe yelled at J.P., who happened to be sprawled on her legs.

"Sorry about that Zoe." J.P. blushed.

"I really am getting tired of falling all the time." Takuya said.

"I don't know how we got here, but it looks like we're trapped." Koji said.

"Are you serious? There's got to be a way out. Feels kind of spongy, this isn't normal rock." Takuya said.

I touched it, and felt it give way to the pressure in my hand, "You're right, that stuff is gross. It feels like the soft palate on the roof of your mouth."

"Zoe, where's J.P.?" Takuya asked.

"I saw him go that way." Zoe pointed down the hall.

We walked down the hall until we came to a dead end, a giant eyeball.

"The owner's sure got a scary decorator." Takuya remarked. "J.P., where are you?"

"Zoe, are you sure that he went this way?" I asked.

"Yeah, this is the way that he went." Zoe said.

"I'm really worried." I said.

"J.P. can take care of himself, at least until we find him." Koji said.

"Yeah, but we have no idea where we are. You never know what could happen. He could be up against Ranamon and Mercurymon all by himself." I said. Not that you could do anything to help, you're too weak. A voice inside me said. "Shut up!" I yelled.

Everyone looked at me with confusion.

"Jade, are you okay?" Koji asked.

I blushed and hid my face behind my bangs, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just, um…thinking out loud." I said.

"You were telling yourself to shut up?" Takuya asked.

I laughed, trying to brush it off, "Yeah, but it's nothing."

Takuya gasped, bringing the attention away from me.

"Takuya, what's the matter?" Tommy asked.

"You hear something?" Zoe asked.

"No, more like a feeling. J.P.'s in trouble." Takuya said.

Suddenly, the ceiling started caving in. Hands appeared from the walls and tried to grab me. I dodged and ran toward the middle of the room, with the others.

"Guess that feeling was right." Takuya said.

"Away slimes, back, back!" Tommy kicked at the hands.

A hand reached in the middle of us, and grabbed Zoe's butt. She turned around and hit Takuya in the head, "Bad move, buster! Oops."

"Come on." Takuya said.

"Sorry, Takuya." Zoe said.

We all got out our D-Tectors, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!"

"Agunimon!"

"Lobomon!"

"DeviAngewomon!"

"Kazemon!"

"Kumamon!"

"Want to grab something? Try my Pyro Punch!" Agunimon said as he shot fire out of his hands.

"Lobo Kendo!"

"Evil Charm!"

"Hurricane Wave!"

"Crystal Freeze!"

"These things probably attacked J.P. too." Agunimon said.

"But where is he now?" Kazemon asked.

"The eyeball. My guess is it's some kind of portal, and he's on the other side." Agunimon said.

"Your guess? What happens if you're wrong?" I asked.

"Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained." Agunimon said.

I shrugged, "I guess you're right. Let's just hope that you're right."

"Of course we have hope; we have the Legendary Warrior of Hope standing right here." Agunimon pointed at me.

I rolled my eyes, "Wow Takuya, wow."

He grinned, "You ready for this, buddy?"

I nodded, "Let's go."

"J.P.!" He yelled as he ran through the eye.

We followed behind him. Zoe and Tommy tripped as they came out, crashing into Takuya.

"Are you alright?" Takuya asked Zoe, who was lying on top of him.

She gasped and got up, "Of course I am."

I laughed.

"Oh, now that's weird." Koji said.

I looked around and noticed that there were hundreds of copies of us, all around.

"Wow, they look exactly like us, except for their eyes. They're too cruel to be us." I said.

Koji nodded.

"What is this, some kind of evil house of mirrors?" Takuya asked.

I looked around and found that we were in some sort of coliseum. In the middle, a digimon and someone else were facing off.

"J.P.!" Takuya yelled.

"Hey, about time!" J.P. yelled back at us from the middle. He started talking to the digimon in the middle, who I now recognized as Beetlemon. But, that's impossible, J.P. is Beetlemon.

J.P. held up his D-Tector, "Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution! MetalKabuterimon!"

"Slide Evolution! Let's party!" The Beetlemon turned into MetalKabuterimon, but I now saw that he didn't have any color; he was just black and white.

"Oh man!" Takuya said.

"Wow, there are two of them!" Tommy exclaimed.

"Bolo Thunder!" The false MetalKabuterimon shot his attack.

MetalKabuterimon got ready to fire his cannon.

"What are you, nuts? You blow that thing at this range; we're both going to go down!" The false MetalKabuterimon said.

"I don't care; it's a risk I'm willing to take to save my friends from you! Bye, bye, bad seed! Electron Cannon!" MetalKabuterimon fired.

"J.P.!" I yelled.

The explosion got rid of the whole stadium, but somehow, J.P. was still there in the center, lying on the ground.

"J.P.!" We all yelled as we ran towards him.

"Hey, Jeep, you okay?" Koji asked.

"Speak to me." Takuya said.

J.P. sat up, "Did Koji just call me Jeep? Hey, you really are my friends!"

"Of course, you bone head." Takuya said.

"Yeah, but don't tell anybody, all right?" Koji said.

"I was worried about you, J.P.." Tommy said.

"Yeah, I thought that you were in danger." I said.

"I'm just happy that you're all right." Zoe said.

"You mean that?" J.P. asked.

"Sure." Zoe said.

"I'm sorry." J.P. said.

"Why?" Takuya asked.

"I doubted our friendship. It was terrible, I felt like nobody cared about me." J.P. said.

"Of course we care about you." Zoe said.

"Thanks, I'll never doubt our friendship again. You guys are like family to me. You're the best friends I've ever had. Thanks for coming, I love you people!" J.P. said.

"Okay, now I'm uncomfortable." Takuya said.

"Sorry, it's been kind of an emotional day, you know? I'm just glad the gang's back together again." J.P. said.

"Yeah." I said, just as arms popped out of the ground again. One grabbed me by the shirt and brought me up to an eye in the air. "Guys!" I yelled, before I plunged through.

I found myself on the ground, in a dark forest, similar to that from my dream. I looked around, finding that I was all alone once again. I stood up and brushed the dirt off my clothes. I started walking forward, hoping to find someone else here.

As I was walking, I noticed that the trees I passed were just like the ones from my dream. I came to a thick patch of trees and hurried past them, only to find myself in the clearing, alone.

I sighed and sat on the ground.

"He's not here." A familiar voice said from behind me. I felt a strong dark aura radiating from whoever it was.

I quickly turned around and faced the voice. I was looking at a pair of purple Nikes identical to my own. My eyes drifted up, seeing skinny jeans and a green and grey striped baggy shirt with brown hair falling down to her middle. I was shaking by the time I looked into the smirking green eyes. I stumbled backward, "Who are you?"

She laughed, "Don't you recognize me?"

I shook my head, "It can't be."

She smiled, "Oh, but it can. I'm you, only I'm more powerful."

I raised my eyebrows, "I highly doubt that."

She laughed, "I know you, inside and out. I know that you really doubt yourself, not my claim to be more powerful."

I froze, how does she know that? I shook it off, "You can't be me, you are filled with darkness, while I am filled with light."

She smiled, "I am who you would be if you embraced the power of darkness."

Now it was my turn to smile, "You are obviously just a copy, I would never choose darkness over light."

She raised her eyebrows, "Ah, but you forget that darkness doesn't mean evil, just as light doesn't mean good. Hove you thought of your digivolution of DeviAngewomon? She is half-light, half-darkness. You have doubted your power, but did you notice that you didn't have nearly as much power when you were LadyBlackGatowomon as when you were Gatowomon, even though LadyBlackGatowomon is supposed to be your strongest evolution? If you used the power of darkness, you would be much stronger. Choose darkness; choose to gain the power to rule this world!"

I stood up and glared at her, "I would never abandon my friends!"

"You would make allies much more powerful than those children who run around saying that they're heroes." She said.

I shook my head, "They don't say that they're heroes, they are heroes. They are saving the digital world from evil like you."

She smirked, "If I'm so evil, how come you're listening to every word I say?"

I turned away, "I'm not considering your offer, if that's what you're thinking."

"Just give in, you can always find new people to protect you. Or, with your new power, you can protect yourself. You will no longer have to rely on anyone. You can be just as strong as you pretend to be." She said.

I thought about it, maybe I could trick her into giving something away. "But, what about my friends?" I asked weakly, as if she was winning.

She smiled, "You don't have to harm them, you can just take their spirits away and send them back to the human world where they belong."

I bit my lip, "How would I get more power?"

She smiled and her face was filled with joy, "Just let the darkness _completely _take over. You won't get nearly as much power if it's halfway done."

I blinked, she was lying. I was half tempted to laugh at her efforts; she thought that she could fool me? If she was supposed to be like me, then she was doing a good job, because she had a tendency to have overly emotional reactions when she was lying, just like I did. I thought about it, it made sense for me to take in darkness, at least a little bit. Looking at DeviAngewomon, I realized that hope is only powerful when it is filled with both darkness and light. As I was, it was no wonder that I was so weak as LadyBlackGatowomon; I was filled up with light, shunning the dark.

I knew what I had to do, "How can I bring in the darkness?"

She smiled, "Just absorb my dark aura."

I nodded, "Okay." I focused on her dark aura and started drawing it in. I felt the light go out of me with each bit of darkness that came. I felt when there was an equal amount of light and darkness, so I stopped letting the darkness in. I felt so much stronger than ever before.

"What are you doing? In order to get all the power, you must take it all." She was angry.

I smiled serenely, "Actually, I have more power than I could ever have with just light or just darkness. But, I must thank you. If you hadn't reminded me that DeviAngewomon is both light and darkness, I would never have this much power. So, thank you."

She glared, "If you're not going to help us, then I'm going to get rid of you."

I smiled at the challenge, "If you think that you're up for it, then I'm ready."

"Execute, Fusion Evolution!" We both yelled.

We were facing off, two cat digimon, but I was stronger, I felt it in my instincts.

"Demonic Shock!" We both through orbs of dark energy at the same time, but mine destroyed hers and still hit her. She flew back and hit a tree, knocking it down.

I walked up to her, smiling, "I'll make this quick. Wicked Claws!"

"No!" She disappeared in a cloud of data.

I shook my head, "I never want to be like that. She was trying to use my emotions against me. That's just wrong." I made a silent promise to myself to never use people emotions to get what I wanted.

I changed back into my human self and an eyeball appeared in front of me. I stepped through, and then I reappeared outside. I saw Tommy talking to Bokomon and Neemon.

"Guys!" I yelled and ran up to them.

"Jade!" Tommy hugged me.

I smiled down at him, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, a digimon tried to take advantage of me, but I remembered some advice from my older brother and was able to defeat him. Then, a portal opened up and brought me here." Tommy said.

"That's great." I said.

"What about you, how did you get out?" Tommy asked.

"Well, a copy of me was trying to get me to join Cherubimon, but I used the combined power of light and darkness to defeat her and finally realize my true power." I said.

"The others must still be inside of that thing." Tommy said, looking up at the mass of green balls with eyes on them.

"Yes, let's just hope they make it out in one piece." Bokomon said.

"A piece of what?" Neemon asked.

"You've got to have faith, if I was able to make it out, then so can they." Tommy said.

"I hope you're right, Tommy, but if they could, then why haven't they?" Bokomon asked.

"They probably need to defeat somebody first and that person might not be easy to find." I said, and then my stomach rumbled.

"You must be hungry from all that fighting." Tommy said.

I nodded, "I'll go look for food. You guys stay here and wait for the others."

"But, won't it be more dangerous for you to go off on your own?" Tommy asked.

I shook my head, "I have so much more power with my Fusion evolution. I'll be just fine. I'm more worried about what might happen to you while I'm gone."

Tommy smiled, "I'll be alright. Someone else is bound to come out soon. Just make sure that you bring some food back, just in case anyone else is hungry."

I nodded, "Alright, see you guys soon." I started walking away.

I walked through the dark forest, thinking about what might be happening to the others. What if Koji was in danger? What if he was up against Duskmon? Would he be alright, or would Duskmon completely destroy him? Based on their last battle, I'm guessing that Duskmon has a reason for keeping him around, at least for now. But, if Duskmon's opinion has changed, Koji didn't have enough power as either Lobomon or KendoGarurumon to defeat him. Koji would need a fusion evolution to even have a chance at defeating him.

I sighed, I had no idea how he could even get a fusion evolution. My power came from BlackGatomon, but I had no idea how her power made me so strong. If she was really that powerful, then she could have held off Duskmon.

Then it hit me, I was the Warrior of Hope. If she had so much belief that I would save the digital world, then that may have been where my new strength came from. Her hope that, one day, the digital world would once again be peaceful. I had no idea whether or not this had anything to do with it, but I thought it was a pretty good guess.

This still didn't help me with the fact that Koji might be battling Duskmon as I walked around looking for food. I remembered how Tommy had defeated his enemy; he remembered some advice from his older brother. I wished that my family had some amazing advice, but they mostly treated me as a burden. I knew that my brother was always trying to help me, but my parents and older sister always acted as if I should be grateful to them for even feeding me. It confused me. My brother always said that they were just wishing that all their kids were as perfect as our sister, but I wasn't so sure. Our sister, Veronica, went to college in Utah and she had always gotten straight A's. My parents always forced me to take similar classes to the ones that she had taken, but I was always resentful. I had completely different interests than her. She loved doing sports and FACS, but I was more interested in theater, dancing, and singing. My parents didn't understand why I was so different from her, or if they did, they weren't sharing.

I sighed, it wouldn't help me to think about my family now, and I needed to focus on the task at hand. I finally found a tree with fruit on it. I grabbed a bunch of them and started heading back to the others. I wondered if anyone else had escaped. If they had, was Koji okay?

I made it back to Tommy only to find that both J.P. and Zoe were there.

"I thought they'd be here by now, but I'm starting to wonder if they'll ever get out." Tommy was saying.

"They will, I hope." Zoe said.

"Don't worry; you'll drive yourself crazy if you do." I said.

They all turned around, "Jade!"

I smiled, "I brought food."

J.P. cheered, "You're the best!"

Everyone grabbed one and started eating, but Zoe kept staring at the two pieces that were meant for Koji and Takuya.

I put my hand on her shoulder, "You have to give them time. I'm sure that they will be fine."

Zoe wasn't convinced, but she nodded, "You're right, it will drive me crazy to sit and worry about them."

"Let's just hope that they will get out soon." I said as I stared at the giant beast that held our friends.

**A/N: Okay, there you go. I hope that you were satisfied. Please review and tell me. :)**


	20. Outside Looking In

**A/N: Wow, I am so sorry for the long wait. Let's just say that I got really busy, really fast. Anyway, I would like to thank Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967, Ebonywolf7, Taeniaea, Latina shewolf, and Pana-sule for reviewing the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 20<br>Outside Looking In**

I hit the ground with my fist in frustration, "I can't stand sitting here, not being able to do anything!"

Zoe nodded, "Yeah, but we can't really change our position at the moment. We need to believe in them."

I bit my lip as I gazed up at Sakkakumon, the beast evolution of Mercurymon. Suddenly, the middle orb showed a brief glimpse of Koji. I stood, "Alright, now we can do something!"

Everyone followed my lead and pulled out their D-Tectors. "Execute, Spirit Evolution!"

My body went through the digivolution until I became DeviAngewomon. I looked at everyone else, all in their human spirits.

I exchanged a look with Kazemon after seeing the wingless state of Kumamon and we both agreed. We each took one of his hands and we started flying towards the orb that Koji had appeared in. We made contact with the orb, and I saw a grid of blue light, trying to stop us from entering. I pushed as hard as I could and, just when I started to feel it give, it pushed me back, bringing me out of my transformation as I fell to the ground as a human.

I landed on my butt, beside everyone else. Nobody had been able to keep their evolution through the fall.

"Is that Duskmon?" Neemon asked, pointing at a dark figure headed for the orb we had just tried to enter.

I looked and could sense the intense darkness coming from his spirit. "Yes, that's Duskmon."

I watched in shock as he pushed past the blue grid and emerged on the other side, obviously after Koji. I pulled at my hair, "This is so messed up! We can't do anything to help, and now Duskmon is inside that thing! You guys didn't stand a chance against him when you were all together, and Koji's all alone!"

"I wish that there was a way that we could contact them." Tommy said.

Zoe was staring at her D-Tector, "Maybe there is. The D-Tectors might be able to communicate with each other."

I bit my lip, "It's worth a try." I started pressing buttons on my D-Tector, hoping that it would work.

Beside me, Zoe had some results. Takuya's voice came through the device, "Zoe, is that you?"

"Takuya!" Everyone yelled and gathered around.

"Wow, are you guys all together?" Takuya asked.

"Yeah, everyone but you and Koji." Zoe replied.

"Takuya, listen. We are all out of Sakkakumon, but you and Koji are still there." I said.

"Sakkakumon?" Takuya asked.

"Sakkakumon is Mercurymon's beast spirit." Bokomon explained.

"That explains the smell." Takuya said.

"Takuya, you have to hurry and find Koji! Duskmon just went inside the orb that he's in, and we're stuck out here." I said.

"Duskmon is after Koji?" Takuya exclaimed.

"Yeah, so please hurry and help him." Zoe said.

"Alright. Have you gotten a hold of him?" Takuya asked.

"No, but we're trying." I said as I continued to press buttons.

"I'll find him, don't worry!" Takuya said before Zoe's D-Tector stopped the connection.

I pressed one last button on my D-Tector and a light appeared. It was the Warrior of Light's symbol. "Koji, can you hear me?"

"Jade? Is that really you?" Koji's voice replied.

I laughed in relief, "Yeah, it's me. Listen, Duskmon is coming after you."

"Duskmon is here." Duskmon's voice came from my D-Tector.

"Duskmon!" Koji yelled.

"Who are you, Koji? I need to know! Give me your memories!" Duskmon yelled.

I heard grunting, then Koji's voice, a little muffled, said, "Duskmon, let go of me!" Then, he yelled in pain and the connection broke.

"Koji! Koji, come back!" I yelled at my D-Tector. I fell to my knees, pressing the buttons on my D-Tector angrily.

"Takuya, please hurry." Zoe whispered.

Bokomon let out a cry of pain, "My baby's coming!"

I looked back at him in shock, the egg was shaking. J.P. groaned, "It just had to happen right now!"

"Hey, I don't choose the timing!" Bokomon said.

I looked back up at the orb that held Koji and Duskmon and felt two powers fighting. I could sense the deep darkness trying to overwhelm the light. I growled angrily, "I'm not going to sit here while he's in trouble! Execute, Fusion Evolution!"

My body morphed into LadyBlackGatowomon. I had been waiting for the chance to show how strong that I had become. I spread my wings, preparing to take flight.

"Jade, wait!" Zoe called. I looked back at her and she was smiling, but her eyes were watering, "Be careful."

I nodded, "Don't worry, I'll try my best. You guys help Bokomon with that mess back there."

Zoe laughed, "Alright."

I took off, straight for the orb which held my enemy and the one I loved. I sighed at my now normal use of the word. It was still so strange to think that I loved him. I focused on the task at hand, slamming into the blue grid once again. This time, I immediately felt the grid giving way to my strength. I could also see inside. Koji had Digivolved into KendoGarurumon from Lobomon and was going in for a head-on attack. Unfortunately, Duskmon knocked him back and he turned back into his human self.

I felt like I was about to make it through the barrier when Duskmon caught sight of me. Suddenly, a dark aura was pushing me back, keeping me from breaking through. Once again, all I could do was watch. It was just as bad as the dream I had.

"It can't end like this. I have so much that I still need to do." Koji was saying.

"Let's end this, now." Duskmon said, raising his sword to make his final blow.

"No!" I yelled pushing against the barrier with all my might, but it just wouldn't give.

Koji looked up in alarm when he heard my voice, "Jade! That's right; I can't leave this to everyone else. I need to fight, for my mom, my dad, and for all the Legendary Warriors who are counting on me!"

A golden light appeared behind me and I watched as it broke a hole in the grid just a few feet from me. It went straight into Koji's D-Tector. It was a light that I recognized, though I had never seen it before. It was the same kind of light that BlackGatomon had released when she turned into data.

Koji stood, "Execute, Fusion Evolution! Beowolfmon!" Koji digivolved into a mix between Lobomon and KendoGarurumon. He was a mechanical wolf that stood on his back legs and had Lobomon's head. He held a golden mechanical sword in his right hand.

I blinked in surprise, watching as he crossed blades with Duskmon. They had equal strength. They were each projecting their powers of light and darkness. The light seemed slightly stronger, but it could have been my imagination. I saw Koji's face show through his spirit and Duskmon's face was replaced by a boy's just as Koji's had. I gasped; it was the boy from my dream. What did this mean?

"Who is that?" Beowolfmon asked before their conflicting powers caused an explosion.

I was blown back by the force. I crashed into a tree in the forest, far away from Sakkakumon. I watched as Lobomon flew overhead, landing at least a mile away. I got to my feet, "Who is that boy? Why is he in the digital world? It made no sense! My brain struggled to come up with answers, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to think while Koji might still be in trouble. So, I dusted myself off and took off in the air towards where Koji had gone. "I will make a difference this time!" I resolved.

**A/N: Well, I know that the chapter was short for such a long wait, but I hope that you liked it. Please review, it would really make my day. :)**


	21. What Only You Can Do

**A/N: Wow, I don't even want to think about how long it's been since I've updated. Let me just say the writer's block mixed with A.P. tests makes a writer very unprepared to write a chapter. I would like to thank Taeniaea, Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967, Latina shewolf, lmv16, finalfan21, and kouji-fan for reviewing chapter 20. If anyone is still reading this, then I hope that you enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. (If I did, I would never meet the deadlines)**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 21<br>What Only You Can Do**

Worry was nagging at my mind, something that I was growing used to. My search for Koji wasn't going anywhere. I figured it would be easy to find the two fighting digimon, but I was starting to doubt my abilities.

_I know where to find him. _A voice echoed in my mind.

I blinked in surprise, it didn't sound like Hope. "Who are you?" I asked.

_A friend. I will send somebody to take you to where he is. _The voice said.

"Really? Thank you so much." I said in relief.

A ghost digimon wearing a witch hat came out from the bushes. "Hello, are you LadyBlackGatowomon?"

I nodded, "Yes."

"I'm Soulmon. I was sent to bring you to the Warrior of Light." The ghost said.

I nodded, "Alright, where is he?"

"Follow me." He started through the forest, quickly weaving through the trees.

I followed, jumping from tree to tree. I wondered if I should trust this digimon. I had no idea where we were going, or even who the voice in my head was. That _should _be cause for worry, but my thoughts were filled with Koji. I didn't know what might happen while I was searching, and this was the only way I could think of to find him.

I looked up into the sky at the Rose Morning Star and noticed that we were getting closer to it. Did this mean that Duskmon was luring Koji towards it?

"Hurry, we're almost there." Soulmon called back to me. He started going faster and I sped up, my train of thought lost.

We reached a clearing and Soulmon stopped suddenly. "Here." He said.

I looked around, but the clearing was empty. "What's here?"

_I am. _The voice in my head spoke again, just as the earth around me started to shake. I flapped my wings and hovered in the air, looking down as a shadow covered the ground. Red eyes and a red mouth formed a face in the shadow. "Hello, Princess. Long time no see." A deep voice said.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am Cherubimon." The voice replied.

I glared at the shadow, "So, _you're _the one who kidnapped Ophanimon."

He laughed, "Don't worry; you'll be joining her soon." The shadow lifted from the ground, becoming a solid figure before my eyes. Cherubimon was a giant purple bunny.

I prepared myself to attack, "The only way that I'll be joining Ophanimon is if I'm rescuing her from your grasp."

He laughed, mocking the strength in my voice. "You really think that you're powerful enough to defeat me? Ophanimon couldn't even defeat me, and she's a Celestial Digimon. What chance do you, a mere _human, _have of defeating me?"

He was trying to make me doubt myself, but I wouldn't fall for it. I could feel the power of both darkness and light radiating through my body. "I am the Princess of the Digital World, and I will do whatever it takes to defend it! Wicked Claws!" My claws lengthened as I slashed the air in front of me, sending red marks through the air at him. It hit him right in the stomach.

He laughed, "Was that supposed to hurt?"

A low growl escaped my lips and I took my chain belt off, "Darkness Noose!" I flicked my wrist and the chain circled Cherubimon, squeezing tighter and tighter. While he was bound, I sent another attack at him, "Demonic Shock!" The ball of dark energy hit him directly in the chest.

His body was knocked back a little and Cherubimon smiled slightly, "I was right, you have become almost half as powerful as the original. That's far too much power for a mere human. It looks like I will have to end this fight quickly." He struggled against my Darkness Noose for a moment before the chain broke.

"Demonic Shock!" I sent another ball of dark energy at him.

It hit him and he grunted, "Lightening Spear!" He fired a spear of lightning at me.

I tried to dodge, but it caught my shoulder and I dropped to the ground. I fell on my knees. I struggled for a moment, but was able to stand. "Wicked-"

"Lightning Spear!" Cherubimon cut me off and hit me directly in the chest with the lightning.

I fell back, changing into my human self. I glared up at the dark figure.

He cocked his head to the side, "Oh, it looks like the warriors of light and darkness are facing off. I wouldn't want to miss the destruction of the light. Soulmon, take her to my castle. Reunite her with Ophanimon."

"Yes, Lord Cherubimon." Soulmon said. He picked me up and we started moving towards the Rose Morning Star.

My mind was calculating. If we were going towards the Rose Morning Star, then that meant that Cherubimon's castle was there. The Rose Morning Star was also pretty far away, giving me enough time to get some of my strength back. If I had enough strength, then I could escape and possibly even help Ophanimon to escape. Now the only problem was getting everyone else to know exactly what was happening. I shifted slightly, pushing the button on my D-Tector.

A voice came from my D-Tector, "Jade, where are you?" It was Zoe.

Soulmon looked at me with suspicion, "What was that?"

"Nothing." I said quickly. "I was just wondering where you were taking me."

"To Lord Cherubimon's castle." Soulmon replied.

"At the Rose Morning Star?" I asked.

"Yes." Soulmon replied.

"And Ophanimon is trapped there?" I asked.

"As Lord Cherubimon said, yes. You sure ask a lot of questions. You're our prisoner, you should shut up." Soulmon ordered.

I heard a gasp from my D-Tector. I coughed to cover it up. "I may be your prisoner, but I'm also the Princess of the Digital World, and you must answer my questions." I said in a commanding voice.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Soulmon said.

I looked at my D-Tector and was relieved to see that Zoe was no longer on the other end. My body was beginning to ache from the battle that I had just lost. I let myself relax, knowing that it was the only way to get my strength back. I knew that it would be at least a couple hours until we arrived, so I let myself drift off to sleep, hoping that I would be able to witness the fight between Koji and Duskmon.

_Jade. _Hope's familiar voice was once again in my mind.

I knew that I was asleep because I was floating behind my friends, minus Koji. "Hope, what's going on?"

_The fight between Koji and Duskmon is about to end. I'll bring you there. _Hope replied. We were suddenly right next to Koji, who was lying on the ground as his human self and a skeleton bird-like digimon was flying above him.

"Destroy Koji, destroy Koji." The bird was muttering to himself.

"What is that thing?" I asked.

_That is Velgemon, the beast spirit of Duskmon. While you were battling with him, a part of him was corrupting the boy inside Duskmon even more. _Hope said.

"Destroy!" The bird dove down towards Koji, its claws outstretched.

"No!" I screamed, unable to look away.

Koji tried to get up, but clutched his chest in pain. His D-Tector fell out of his pocket. A light shone in Velgemon's middle eyes and Ophanimon's voice spoke. Velgemon stopped in his tracks, only a few feet away from hitting Koji with his massive claws. Ophanimon spoke of remembering, but I chose to speak to Hope rather than listening.

"Hope, who is the boy inside Velgemon?" I asked.

_I'm not sure if it is something that I should reveal. You should ask Ophanimon. It is not my duty to reveal something like that. What I _can _reveal is that his name is Koichi Kimura. _Hope said.

I looked around, Velgemon had flown away and Koji was mumbling to himself.

"Koji! Are you okay?" Takuya ran up, followed by everyone else.

"Yeah…" He said. I frowned, he didn't sound so sure.

"That's good news." Zoe said.

"Yeah, we all heard that explosion and thought that you were in it." Tommy said.

"Explosion?" I wondered, but knew that they couldn't answer me.

"Well I kind of was." Koji said.

"You were? What do you mean?" Takuya asked.

"Well…" Koji looked around, and then a confused expression came over his face. "Where's Jade?"

Everyone frowned and looked away, except Zoe, who spoke. "Jade was captured. She was going after you when she was captured."

I sighed, "I must seem so useless to them. All I ever do is get captured."

_Relax. You have something that only you can do. It isn't your destiny to help them at this point. You are meant to go to the castle. _Hope said.

"Why? What's at the castle?" I asked.

_You shall see. _Hope replied.

I focused on the conversation again. "Really, it's because of this little guy that you were able to fusion evolve." Zoe said.

I looked at the orange guinea pig digimon with bat wings for ears. His name was unknown to me, but I already owed him for helping Koji. "Who is that little digimon?" I asked.

_His name is Patamon. He is the rookie form of Seraphimon. _Hope said.

"I see." I said.

_We have to leave now; you are almost at the castle. Don't worry; you will see your friends again. _Hope told me as I blinked and the landscape around me changed. I looked up at a massive tower that reminded me of a stack of jellyfish.

"Is this is?" I asked, mostly to myself.

"Welcome to the Rose Morning Star." Soulmon said.

We floated toward the first platform, where a doorway with two digimon guarding it awaited us. They were hooded figures carrying golden scythes. "Welcome, we've been expecting you." They said.

"Thank you, Phantomon." Soulmon said.

The doorway opened and we were faced with a giant staircase. We floated up the middle, not bothering to use the stairs. We finally emerged in a colorful room filled with crystals and light. I looked around in awe, the room was warm, nothing like anything I would imagine in Cherubimon's castle.

"Lady Ophanimon, you have a visitor." Soulmon called, looking up into a bright orb near the ceiling of the room.

"Jade, why are you here alone?" Ophanimon's voice called.

"I was captured." I replied.

"Don't worry, we'll make a nice little cage for this human girl for you, Lady Ophanimon." Soulmon said.

"You wish." I said as I jumped out of his hands. I pushed the side button on my D-Tector, "Execute, Spirit Evolution!" I turned into DeviAngewomon. "I have regained enough power to become my human spirit."

Soulmon gasped and turned toward the door, obviously going to get help. "Stop him." Ophanimon ordered.

"Evil Charm!" The black cross wrapped around Soulmon, immobilizing him.

"We cannot let Cherubimon know that you escaped just yet. He is busy with the Warrior of Darkness." Ophanimon said.

I shook my head, "You must know that Duskmon isn't the real warrior of darkness."

"Duskmon is a corrupt version of the Warrior of Darkness. Only by Koichi's power will Loweemon appear." Ophanimon said.

"Who exactly is Koichi? Why does he look like Koji?" I asked.

"They look alike because they are brothers, twin brothers to be exact." Ophanimon said.

I swallowed, "But Koji told me that he didn't have any siblings."

"I do not know exactly why, but the twins were separated when they were very young and do not remember each other." Ophanimon said.

"Alright, I'll free you, and then we can stop them from fighting each other." I said, determined to do what's right.

"No." Ophanimon said as I prepared to attack the cage of light surrounding her. "You have a different job that you must do."

"What is it?" I asked.

"You are different from the other children. You are the princess." Ophanimon said.

"So?" I asked.

"The princess was never meant to fight." Ophanimon said.

"So, what you're saying is that I'm useless?" I asked, outraged at this development.

"Far from it." Ophanimon replied. "You were not brought here to defeat Cherubimon. You have another purpose, one that only _you _can do. You must stop Cherubimon's army."

I blinked in surprise, "How am I supposed to do that?"

"It's not what you think. You will not be facing the army as the Warrior of Hope. You will be facing them as the Princess of the Digital World." Ophanimon said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"You will bring them what they need most, the hope of a new world. If you do not convince them to stop fighting, then they will join Cherubimon in battle against the ten Legendary Warriors and your friends will have no chance of winning." Ophanimon said.

"So, I'm supposed to take charge and bring them over to our side?" I asked.

"Yes. In some ways, this will be an even harder task than defeating Cherubimon." Ophanimon said.

"Why can't I just free you and let you do it?" I asked.

"They do not trust me. I am a human type digimon, while they are made up of beast types. They need someone who they have always trusted and loved, the Princess of the Digital World." Ophanimon explained.

I sighed, "Alright, I will try. I have never been exceptionally good at convincing people that I was right, but I will do what I can, or at least stall them for the sake of everyone else."

"Good. Now, you must go back the way you came and go down this time. The army is living underground, waiting for the final battle between the Legendary Warriors and their master." Ophanimon said.

I took a deep breath. "I'll go now. Hopefully everyone else will get here soon to rescue you."

"Don't worry about me. Just worry about the task at hand. I wish you good luck." She said.

I nodded, "Thank you. What should I do about Soulmon? He now knows all our plans."

"I'm afraid that you will have to get rid of him. We cannot risk him telling anybody." She said.

I nodded, "Slide Evolution!" I felt myself relax into Gatowomon's body. "Cat Claw!" I slashed Soulmon with my claws. His fractal code surrounded him. "Fractal code, Digitize!" His data was swallowed by my D-Tector. His egg flew away.

"Go now. You have a lot of work to do." Ophanimon said.

"Slide Evolution!" I changed back into DeviAngewomon. I flew out the door and let myself descend down the middle of the winding staircase. It was taking a lot longer than I wanted, so I tucked my wings in and dove at the ground, face first. The stairs were rushing by me, making me feel extremely alive. Oddly enough, I was afraid of heights. I had never really thought about it until now, but flying as a digimon had never scared me. Although I could never have the window seat on an airplane because it would make me sick. When I was about twenty feet from the bottom, I released my wings and pulled up, putting my feet below me. I flapped a few times and let my feet brush the ground. I folded my wings again and took a deep breath.

"Slide Evolution!" I knew that I couldn't face these beast digimon as DeviAngewomon. That would be suicide.

I walked toward a dark doorway, hearing many voices talking at once. I entered to find the biggest group of digimon that I had ever seen all eating dinner. They looked towards me at once, their conversations halted.

"Who are you?" A menacing voice asked from the back of the room. A path was made for a lion-like digimon. It was yellow with orange markings and large grey fangs.

I stood tall, trying to look strong. "I am Gatowomon."

The lion's eyes flashed with interest, "So, _you're _the Legendary Warrior of Hope?"

I felt the right words coming to me, "Some call me that, but I am better known as the Princess of the Digital World."

Mocking laughter came from all over the room and I knew that I had made a slight mistake. "So, _Princess, _what makes you think that you can come down here?" The lion asked.

I felt the beast in me rising to his challenge and I fought to suppress it. Then, I thought about it. If I was going to gain the trust of the beasts, then I would have to be a beast myself. I let the beast inside me take over, but I could still think straight. I felt like grinning. I had never thought that I could have this much control of my beast spirit. I felt my stance fall to the natural stance of my beast, ready for a fight. "What makes you think that I don't belong down here?" I asked.

He noticed the change in me, "So, you're trying to pose as a beast?"

"Do you think that I can't handle being with you beasts?" I asked.

"We shall see." He said. He started circling me.

I joined in his dance, knowing that this was the only way to be accepted by the beast digimon. "So, may I know my opponent's name?" I asked.

"I am SaberLeomon, general of Lord Cherubimon's army." He replied.

"I see." I said, and then focused on his movements. We continued circling; I was waiting for him to attack, wanting to know exactly what he was made of.

He dove toward me, "Howling Crusher!" He was trying to claw at me. Instead of dodging, I met his attack head- on.

"Cat Claw!" Our claws met and I was able to get SaberLeomon at a standstill.

He stared at me in surprise, "I suppose you are quite the beast."

I grinned, "Only when I need to be."

He nodded and stepped away, showing that he was done attacking. "You have almost the same presence as Lord Cherubimon. Only you have more elegance about you, less darkness."

"So, you already trust this girl?" A voice asked from the back of the room.

SaberLeomon turned in annoyance toward the voice. The crowd once again split, revealing a metal wolf-like digimon. "MetalGarurumon, she has proved herself worthy of being in our company."

MetalGarurumon growled, "You cat digimon are all the same. She didn't even land a blow on you, yet you trust her because she is nearly equal to you in power."

SaberLeomon glared, "How would you do it, dog?"

I saw that this beast would be much harder to please. Although, the similarity to KendoGarurumon made me weary to fight. "I am more than willing to pass whatever test you wish."

MetalGarurumon's head cocked to the side, "That is the problem. As a wolf, I am very loyal. I do not believe that you wish to join us. I believe that you wish to turn us away from Lord Cherubimon."

My tail swished, showing my interest in this wolf's words. "You are correct."

MetalGarurumon growled, "That means that we must destroy you."

"Does it?" I asked.

"Yes." He didn't sway.

"But, isn't your loyalty to the Digital World itself?" I asked.

"I am loyal to the Digital World, and Lord Cherubimon is in control of the Digital World." MetalGarurumon replied.

"I am also loyal to the Digital World. As the Princess, I will do what it takes to protect it. Cherubimon is destroying the Digital World. As someone who is loyal to the Digital World, you should be able to see why I would be against Cherubimon." I said. I knew that I was against a digimon that would listen to my words, but also do what he thought was right.

"That is one way of looking at it, but Lord Cherubimon has always looked after our interests. He is just freeing us from the suppression of the human type digimon." He said.

"But, who has suppressed you?" I asked.

"Ophanimon and Seraphimon didn't listen to Lord Cherubimon's suggestions to let us beasts run wild." MetalGarurumon said.

"Would it be such a good thing to have beasts running wild? Would loyalty apply to those who are running wild? Would anyone care about other's rights if everyone was running wild?" I questioned.

He blinked in surprise, "You bring up very good points. I am surprised that you would see such things."

"Why is that? I am merely doing what is best for all. As someone who can turn into either a beast or a human, I can see both sides." I said.

"I suppose that you are right. But I do not see why you try so hard to bring us over to our side. Do you not have the strength to fight us off?" He asked, calling my strength as a beast into question.

I fought the urge to claw his eyes out, "Where would fighting get us? Fighting started this war. What is needed is for us to realize that we need to stop for the good of everyone. I could fight you, but no matter how strong I am, I can't defeat you all. It is cruel to defeat so many digimon just to end a war. It is better to just stop the fighting."

The beasts were looking at me with a sort of respect in their eyes. "Then, how will the winner be decided?" MetalGarurumon asked.

"By the fighting of the Legendary Warriors and Cherubimon. This fight is up to them. They are the ones that will decide the outcome. Just know that the Legendary Warriors will not hold the fact that you were on the side of Cherubimon against you. While Cherubimon is planning on destroying everyone in order to be the most powerful." I said.

"But, are you sure that the Legendary Warriors can win?" MetalGarurumon asked.

There was a large crash ringing through the walls of the castle. "Yes, they _will _win. They have to. For the sake of every digimon in the Digital World."

The beasts looked around in confusion, "What is that?" SaberLeomon asked.

"The Legendary Warriors have begun their fight with Cherubimon." I replied.

MetalGarurumon and SaberLeomon looked at me, obviously waiting for orders. "What would you have us do, Princess?" MetalGarurumon asked.

I shook my head, "I do not wish for you to fight. I want you to be safe. Leave this place. Get as far away as possible. I'm not sure what might happen, but I can tell that there will be a lot of destruction."

"Are you sure?" SaberLeomon asked.

"Yes. I will help you to evacuate." I said.

"What about your friends? Shouldn't you help them?" MetalGarurumon asked.

"I will help you first. Before being a warrior, I am a princess. A princess must protect her people. I know that the Legendary Warriors can do it without me. I was meant to help _you." _I said, knowing that my words were true.

"If you're sure, then we will start the evacuation." MetalGarurumon said.

Things got slightly confusing after that. MetalGarurumon told everyone to escape while SaberLeomon started up the stairs, finding the best way out. I felt useless once again; I didn't know what to do. I saw a group of young beasts looking around in confusion and I knew what I must do. I walked over to them. "We must get out in an orderly fashion, alright?"

They nodded at me. I saw a dog-like digimon that looked like a Doberman pinscher with a silver spiked collar. "Excuse me, but could you make sure that these young ones make it out all right?" I asked.

The digimon bowed, "I am Dobermon, and I would be happy to escort them."

"Thank you." I said. I walked around the room, helping other groups like this. It took quite a while. At last, we were at the final group. I trailed behind them, making sure that nobody tripped. By now, the crashes from upstairs were so intense that I didn't even want to know how bad it was. We finally made it outside and I was surprised by the amount of damage. The floor that Ophanimon had occupied was in ruins.

I looked toward the sky. Two unknown digimon were facing off against Cherubimon.

"Go to them. We can take it from here." MetalGarurumon said.

"Save the Digital World. We know that you can." SaberLeomon said.

I smiled, "Thanks guys." I headed off toward the sky, not knowing what to expect.

**A/N: So, that's it for now. I'm not sure how I feel about the chapter, but I wanted it to be different from the original story, but also make it seem like it could have actually happened. Tell me what you think. Reviews are what got me through my writer's block. :)**

**P.S.: Starting tomorrow, I am officially on summer vacation! With this wonderful break from school, I will be spending most of my free time writing. Look forward to much faster updates. (I'm shooting for at least once a week) Thanks for reading. :)**


	22. Reunited at Last

**A/N: Well, wasn't that a fast update? I just couldn't stop writing. Anyway, I'd like to thank Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 for reviewing chapter 21.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. :(**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 22<br>Reunited at Last**

As I looked up at Cherubimon and the two unidentified digimon, I saw that Cherubimon was done talking. "Storm of Judgment!" The two digimon dodged, but I saw some lightning heading for my friends, minus Koji and Takuya. Koichi was also added to the group, surprising me.

"Slide Evolution!" I chose flight over jumping from rock to rock. Zoe and Koichi went flying when the rock they had been on was struck. I flew as fast as I could, managing to catch one in each arm. I grunted at the extra weight.

"DeviAngewomon!" Zoe exclaimed. "We were wondering where you were. Ophanimon just told us that you were doing what you had to. Care to explain?"

I grinned, "Some other time. Right now we need to land, or I'm going to drop you." I landed on a floating rock and was glad to see that the red digimon, who I assumed was Takuya, was bringing the others to the top of the tower. "Alright, do you think you guys could hang on long enough for me to get to the top of the tower?"

Zoe nodded, "I trust that you'll get us there."

Koichi looked uncomfortable, "I don't want to be a burden."

I shook my head, "Koichi, you're a part of this group. I'm going to save you no matter what you say. What I want to know is whether or not you can hold on to me for that long."

The both blinked at me. Koichi looked confused, "How do you know my name?"

I rolled my eyes, but it must have creeped him out to see a red eye rolling because he took a step back. I sighed. "I can explain later. Right now, I need you to hold on tight. Can you do that?"

He nodded, but right at that moment Takuya came over to us. "I'll carry Zoe."

I nodded, "Got it." I took Koichi in my arms, ignoring his protesting and we started up towards the top of the tower. We finally reached the top and I set Koichi down, right next to everyone else.

"Okay, we're fine. Now go kick Cherubimon's butt!" Zoe said as Takuya put her down.

"I'll do my best, which, as we all know, is awesome!" Yep, that's definitely Takuya.

I turned to follow, but everything that I had done was catching up to me and I fell to the ground, changing back into my human self.

"Jade!" Zoe and Tommy knelt beside me while J.P. offered me his hand.

Takuya turned back towards us, "Are you okay?"

I waved him away, "Go and fight! And tell Koji that if he doesn't come back, I'll kick his butt!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Takuya saluted me and was off, going to the aid of Koji.

I took J.P.'s hand and Zoe and Tommy stood beside me, making sure that I didn't fall. "You must have been through a lot." Tommy said.

I shook my head, "I shouldn't be so weak right now, but I think that the buildup of fighting is getting to me. I can't imagine how Koji and Takuya feel."

"Don't blame yourself. By the way, what _have _you been doing?" J.P. asked.

"I was getting rid of Cherubimon's army of beast digimon." I replied.

"You fought them?" Bokomon asked.

I shook my head, "I reasoned with them. I convinced them to leave the battle up to us. They agreed and I successfully evacuated them from the castle. I told them to get as far away as possible, so they will hopefully be safe from the fighting."

"Wow, that must have been hard." Zoe said.

"I'm sure that you would have done a better job than me, Z. After all, you're a really likeable person, while I'm just a loner." I said.

She shook her head, "If people would get to know you, then they would like you. Of course, you would also need to stop pushing people away."

I raised my hands in defeat, "Fine, I'll admit that it's my own fault."

"Is this really the time to be talking about things like this?" Koichi questioned.

I looked down at my feet, not sure how to address him now that I was back to my human self. "I'm sorry."

Things were getting close. They were a couple platforms below us, so I couldn't see very well. I saw an explosion and felt the building begin to shake. We all grabbed hold of the rocks around us. "It's coming down!" J.P. exclaimed.

"We have to get out!" Tommy said.

I took out my D-Tector, "I hope this works! Execute, Spirit Evolution!" I felt myself morph into DeviAngewomon. Takuya and Koji reached us at that moment. "Tommy, you're the smallest so I'll carry you." He nodded and I picked him up.

Takuya was picking up everyone else. Koji couldn't fly without his outer armor, which he had shed during the battle. Only J.P. and Koichi were left. Koichi waved J.P. forward. J.P. got on, but before Koichi could move, the floor caved in.

"Koichi!" We yelled. Koji reached down and grabbed him, making me sigh in relief. I took flight and Takuya followed me. We watched as the castle sunk down into the ground. I thought of all the digimon that had been underground and was glad that I was able to rescue them.

"So, do you think Cherubimon's gone?" J.P. asked.

"No way, it's never that easy." Koji replied.

Koichi looked up at Koji, an expression of wonder on his face. I frowned, what was up with that?

"Guys, look out!" Tommy called. I avoided the smoke and debris, but Takuya wasn't so lucky. They fell to the ground.

I followed after them, landing on the ground safely, with Tommy still in my arms. "Guys, are you okay?" I asked.

Takuya popped up from under a pile of rocks, "My head, that's the _only _part of me that doesn't hurt."

Everyone else was patting the dirt off their clothes. I sighed in relief and put Tommy down. I changed back into my human form.

"Looks like nobody's hurt." I said.

"Nobody got hurt? Well, looks like there's a first time for everything." Takuya said.

I looked around at my group of friends and couldn't help it, I started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Zoe asked.

"I'm just so relieved. I mean, nobody's hurt, and we're all together." I said.

Koji smiled at me, "Yeah, it's nice to be all together again."

I ran to him and hugged him, "Are you really okay?"

"Yeah." He said, hugging me tight.

"So, what happened to Cherubimon?" Zoe asked as we broke away.

"I suppose that you guys really did defeat him." Bokomon said.

"No, there's no way that he could be defeated that easily." Koichi said.

"Well we _did _destroy his hideout and I bet we did a lot of damage to him. I bet he's licking his wounds right now." J.P. said proudly.

"Thanks to Takuya and Koji." Zoe said.

"Not just us. It was you guys too." Koji said.

"Yeah, you helped us a lot. Not only did you give us your spirits, you were there cheering us on. Only now we have a problem." Takuya said.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Relax, I just meant that we had to get you your spirits back." His Digivice lit as he was talking, along with Koji's. The spirits were transferred back to their original owners.

"Hey, I got my spirits back!" Tommy exclaimed.

"Well, I guess the spirits heard me talking." Takuya said.

"Welcome back, Kazemon." Zoe said.

"Gee whiz, I never thought I'd be so happy to see something that I can't even eat." J.P. said.

I shook my head, but laughed along with everyone else. Suddenly, I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I looked around, but I didn't see anything threatening. It must be because I feel like I didn't do anything. I thought to myself.

"So, what do we do now?" Koji asked.

"Make a new plan, I guess." Takuya said.

"Stop guessing, and start thinking!" Bokomon ordered.

I rolled my eyes, "Why is it that you're always the one to order us around, yet we do all the work." I teased.

Everyone laughed, except for Zoe and Koichi, who were talking. "Looks to me like you have something on your mind, Koichi. You want to share?" Zoe asked.

Koichi looked away, obviously uncomfortable.

"Aw, come on! Don't be shy. I mean, after all, we're all friends here. Right?" She winked at him.

I rolled my eyes; it almost looked like she was flirting with him. He got a determined look on his face and then walked toward Koji and me. It was nice standing by his side again, knowing that we would be able to stay that way for now.

"Um, Koji?" Koichi asked.

Koji turned to face him, "Hm?"

"So, uh, listen…" Koichi started.

"Yeah?" Koji asked.

"Come on, Koichi, you can trust us." Zoe prompted, as if he was talking to her.

"Well, you see-" Koichi started, but was cut off by Patamon's screaming.

The pit in my stomach got deeper, "Something's coming!"

Koji and Koichi looked at me in surprise. They were the only ones who heard me.

"What are you yelling for?" J.P. asked Patamon, who was on his head.

"Cause he's coming!" Patamon yelled.

"Cherubimon's coming?" Koji asked.

The ground was icing over. "Beneath us." Koichi said.

Spikes of ice shot out of the ground. Everyone got thrown around in different directions. I landed on my butt next to Koichi, but Koji landed next to Takuya. What looked like a white version of Devimon appeared out of nowhere.

"IceDevimon, one of the nastiest digimon around..." Bokomon continued, but I didn't bother to listen. _This _was what I had felt coming.

I stood up, my D-Tector in my hand.

"Cherubimon sent you to finish us off, huh?" J.P. asked.

"Cherubimon? Hah, I wouldn't compare me to that weakling if I were you." IceDevimon replied.

"If you're not with him, what do you want with us?" Zoe asked.

"Whatever it is, it isn't good." I said.

"Oh, just death and destruction. You _don't _want to know what it says in here." Bokomon said.

"How will I know that until I know?" Neemon asked.

I tuned them out, instead moving my body around in order to decide whether or not I had enough strength to spirit evolve. I decided that I couldn't fusion evolve, but beast spirit and human spirit evolving would be fine.

"So tell me, you are humans, are you not?" IceDevimon asked.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Takuya asked.

"Hold your tongue, little creature. I simply wish to express my gratitude to those who freed me from that tiresome prison." IceDevimon said.

"Oh, well, you're welcome." Neemon said.

"You know it's funny, I didn't know humans could evolve into digimon. Do you have tasty data, like the rest of them? Yummy!" IceDevimon said.

"Watch it, bud!" J.P. said.

"I guess you'll never know." I said, letting venom seep into my words. Everyone saw just how on edge I was and immediately set themselves to match, knowing that I was sensitive to the amount of danger we were in.

"The data of the digimon Cherubimon captured was so sweet." IceDevimon said.

"Are you telling us that you destroyed all those digimon?" Takuya demanded.

"You betcha. But I wondered if your data will be sweeter." IceDevimon licked his lips.

"You'll never find out so long as we have a say in it." Takuya said. Copy my words much? I rolled my eyes.

"And we do." Koji said.

"First I must give you all a little gift for freeing me." IceDevimon said as little beams shot from his fingers. They hit Koji and Takuya's D-Tectors.

Their D-Tectors turned to solid ice. "My D-Tector!" Takuya exclaimed. "This is a thank you?"

"You're powerful, so I'll save you for later. That way we can have a good fight after these distractions are eliminated. And let me tell you, it will be so joyous, all the pain and the suffering, don't you agree?" IceDevimon said.

"Okay, we crossed over into weirdville." Zoe said.

"And to have the chance to taste human data for the first time, this will be the most wonderfully excruciating day ever! Thank you so very much for this gift!" He was practically drooling.

Zoe flicked her hair behind her shoulder. "Listen chump, the pain's going to be all yours." She said.

"I'll second that!" Tommy said.

"Count me in!" J.P. said.

"I suppose that we could teach this guy a lesson." I said.

"Me too, I'm not going to let you hurt my friends!" Koichi yelled. I blinked in surprise, I hadn't expected that from him, but I suppose that he had made friends with the others while I was gone.

"Execute, Spirit Evolution!" We yelled in unison.

"Beetlemon!"

"Kazemon!"

"DeviAngewomon!"

"Kumamon!"

"Loweemon!" I blinked in surprise. It appeared that Koichi had unlocked the true form of darkness. I was happy to see the dark lion digimon from Hope's memories.

J.P. attacked first, "Thunder Fist!" IceDevimon dodged.

"Hurricane Wave!" He once again dodged.

"Frozen Tundra!" Kumamon was headed straight for IceDevimon, but he just grabbed Kumamon and licked him like a popsicle.

"Tommy!" Kazemon yelled, but IceDevimon grabbed her and held her up in the air.

"Z, hang on! Heaven's Wave!" I sent out my angel-like creatures and they attacked IceDevimon.

He dropped Kazemon and Kumamon in order to fend off my creatures.

"Now, get lost, creep!" J.P. said.

"But I can't leave without having fun with you first. You're such unusual prey. Now what can I do to prolong my joy? Ah, of course! Trust me, you're going to love this." He flapped his wings, sending ice cold air towards us.

The ice started climbing up our bodies. "I can't move my legs!" Kazemon yelled.

I used my claw to pick at the ice, freeing my legs and taking off into the air. Unfortunately, Beetlemon and Kazemon weren't so lucky.

"Isn't it wonderful? I can get you one at a time and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. Best idea I've had in years." IceDevimon stalked toward my frozen friends.

"Crystal Breeze!" Kumamon started to freeze IceDevimon's feet to the ground.

Loweemon came up behind IceDevimon, "Shadow Lance!" IceDevimon dodged and flew into the air.

"Very well, if that's the way you want it, let us begin your beautiful destruction!" IceDevimon said.

"Come down and fight!" Loweemon said.

IceDevimon didn't notice that I had snuck up behind him, "Wish granted, Evil Charm!" The black cross wrapped around him, binding his wings to his body and sending him flying towards the ground.

"Slide Evolution!" Kumamon and Loweemon shouted.

"Korikakumon!"

"JagerLoweemon!"

They closed in on IceDevimon. "Avalanche Axes!" Korikakumon sliced at him, but he broke through my Evil Charm and avoided the attack.

"Ebony Blast!" A burst of dark energy came from JagerLoweemon's mouth, but IceDevimon used his wing to block it.

"This is no fun at all. Your attacks, they bore me." He got an evil grin on his face and came up behind Koji and Takuya, who were still trying to get their D-Tectors to work. "Howdy!" He picked them up.

"Put them down, you evil scallywag!" Bokomon yelled. Since when has Bokomon been a pirate? Some part of me asked.

"First some fun." He poked at Takuya's head and we were forced to back up a little. "How delicious, I just knew you were the kind who wouldn't attack if you knew your friends were in danger. But there are things I don't yet know about you humans, such interesting and fragile creatures. So I propose a little game." He poked at Takuya again. "Let's see how much freezing these two can stand and how much you're willing to let them freeze." He placed Takuya and Koji on the ground, where a blue sphere covered them, obviously going to freeze them.

"Fight, you coward!" Kazemon yelled at IceDevimon.

"Coward? A coward runs from pain, but I embrace it." IceDevimon said. He disappeared before our eyes only to hit us. We all flew in different directions. "So, you still want me to fight your friends?" He mocked Zoe.

"You let us out of here and we'll give you a real fight!" Takuya said.

"Yeah, come on!" Koji yelled.

IceDevimon chuckled, "You already have a fight on your hands."

The ice inside the sphere shot towards them. Koji pushed Takuya out of the way, causing the ice to wrap around him. "Koji, no!" Takuya yelled.

JagerLoweemon struggled to get up, "Koji!"

I let myself fall out of my evolution. I was panting, but I didn't care. If Koji was in trouble, then I was going to save him. "Execute, Fusion Evolution!" I morphed into my favorite digimon, "LadyBlackGatowomon!"

It appeared that JagerLoweemon was also ready to fight for Koji. "Ebony Blast!"

The attack hit IceDevimon right in the back. He turned to look at JagerLoweemon, who was radiating dark energy. While he was distracted, I struck, "Wicked Claws!" The attack hit him in the chest.

He stumbled back a little. Then he looked at between JagerLoweemon and me with interest. "How delightful."

JagerLoweemon charged at IceDevimon, who avoided him. JagerLoweemon hit the sphere that trapped Takuya and Koji and the ice that held Koji broke.

I knew that IceDevimon might go for them again, so I attacked, "Wicked Claws!" My attack hit his arm. This gave time for the guys to get away. I knew that I didn't have that much strength remaining. I should use it wisely. IceDevimon was taunting JagerLoweemon. This was my chance, "Demonic Shock!" My attack hit his chest, sending him flying back. With the last of my energy used, I fell to my knees and came out of my evolved state. My body shook from the cold ice beneath my jeans.

"Jade!" Koji called.

IceDevimon was coming up towards me. JagerLoweemon leapt at him and IceDevimon welcomed his attack. A whirlwind surrounded them, making it impossible to see who was winning.

Suddenly, the whirlwind broke and JagerLoweemon flew out, falling to his side. "JagerLoweemon!" Korikakumon called.

"I'm fine, just help the others." JagerLoweemon said.

"But-"

"Now!" JagerLoweemon cut him off.

"Okay." Korikakumon first came to me, picking me up and placing me next to Koji and Takuya. Then, he went to Kazemon and Beetlemon. He hacked at the ice and they were freed from their icy prisons.

"Now for some fun of our own!" Beetlemon exclaimed.

"Slide Evolution!"

"MetalKabuterimon!"

"Zephyrmon!"

"You know, it is always better to destroy many, than just a few." IceDevimon said.

"How about just one? You! It's time to show you the strength that comes from true friendship!" JagerLoweemon said.

Korikakumon blew ice, and Zephyrmon used her winds to point them at IceDevimon. "Did you really think cold could stop me?" MetalKabuterimon stood right in front of him and pointed his cannon. "No, wait!"

"Think this might stop you? Electron Cannon!" MetalKabuterimon was sent back from the force of his cannon.

IceDevimon started to crack, "It's not possible! I'm cracking!"

"You don't like it?" Zephyrmon taunted.

"Dark Master!" A dark shadow surrounded JagerLoweemon and he charged, hitting IceDevimon right in the back and going straight through his body.

IceDevimon's fractal code appeared. "Slide Evolution!" JagerLoweemon turned into Loweemon. "IceDevimon, your evil data has long been in need of this purification! Fractal code, Digitize!" IceDevimon turned into an egg and flew away. JagerLoweemon fell to his hands and knees and turned back into Koichi.

Koji walked up to him and held out his hand. The twins smiled at each other as Koji helped Koichi up.

"Well Koichi, I gotta say, after that fight, you are definitely one of us." Takuya said.

"Yeah, welcome to the party!" Korikakumon said.

At that moment, Koji and Takuya's D-Tectors thawed out. "Alright, it thawed out!" Takuya exclaimed.

"Because IceDevimon was defeated, everything's going back to normal." Bokomon said.

"My pants are soggy!" Neemon said.

"So is your head." Patamon said.

Wind blew across us, threatening to blow our small digimon friends away. Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. We looked up and saw that the top of Cherubimon's castle was still hanging in the air, letting in a steady stream of data.

I swallowed, "That doesn't look good."

"What is that?" Korikakumon asked as that outer shell dissolved and left an even smaller layer.

"I'll give you three guesses." MetalKabuterimon replied.

"I only need one. It's not over yet guys!" Takuya exclaimed as we continued to look up at the spectacle before us.

**A/N: Alright, now that I've completely extinguished Jade's energy once again, and you are completely angry that the main character is useless, I can say that there is still quite a bit to go in this story and that Jade might get her shot in the spotlight. Might I'm not making anything absolute at this moment. Anyways, tell me what you think. Even if you think that it's completely horrible, I still want to know. Then I can go into my emo corner (like Tamaki from Ouran High School Host Club) and resolve to make it better. Thanks for reading. :)**


	23. Cherubimania

**A/N: Hello, my wonderful readers! Please, don't kill me. :)**

**I know, I know, I said that I was going to update a lot sooner...but writer's block had other ideas. Now that school is back in session, it decided that it was going to lift from my mind, just enough to get in the way of my school work. Anyways, thanks to Latina shewolf, Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967, finalfan21, DCLWLOKPR44424, SoulDragon162, lmv16, Eaten Alive By Boredom, and Cosmos Angel and Yami Chaos for reviewing my last chapter. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon in any way shape or form. But I do own Jade. :)**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 23<br>Cherubimania**

We stood; looking up at the place where we were sure Cherubimon was hiding out. I shook my head, this was definitely the final battle that we had been waiting for, and I barely had the strength to stand up.

"Wow, look at all those pretty floaty thingies!" Neemon said. I nodded at his accurate description. Thingies was definitely the word that I would describe the pieces left over from Cherubimon's castle.

"Sorry to burst your blissful bubble, but those are not "thingies."" Bokomon said.

"Oh yeah, then what are they?" Neemon asked. I looked at Bokomon; I myself wanted the answer to that question.

"Well…um…I don't know! But see, _thingies _do not glow!" Bokomon said quickly when the floating pieces started to glow.

"Oh, okay." Neemon said.

I rolled my eyes, I was surrounded by idiots. Suddenly, fractal codes started streaming up towards the floating, glowing, thingies.

"Whatever it is, it sure us sucking up a whole lot of data." Takuya remarked.

The data streams suddenly weren't going up anymore and a shockwave burst out from the floating thingy. The ground around us started rising, making it dangerous for someone who was unsteady on their feet, like me, for example.

"Oh boy, now what?" MetalKabuterimon asked.

"Cherubimon is definitely up to something up there, I can just feel it." Koichi said.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I've had just about enough of that guy." Zephyrmon said.

"Apparently the space and gravity data is being affected by some sort of energy warp." Bokomon said as the ground that had once been below us started gravitating upward, toward Cherubimon's hideout.

"Or by those glowing thingies!" Neemon remarked.

Bokomon was obviously exasperated with Neemon's lack of vocabulary. "Neemon would you please stop it with your thingy…um…thingy!"

I chuckled a little, after all, he would be just as annoyed with me if I didn't carefully control everything I said.

"I think it's time to finish this. How about it, are you with me?" Koji asked.

"Um…yeah. I guess…I mean we have to do something, right?" Takuya asked.

"Definitely, and you and I are the only ones who can do it." Koji said, obviously determined to get the job done.

I looked down, I felt like I was letting everyone down. I was absolutely useless. After all, Koji and Takuya didn't need my spirit, yet I was too weak to even think about helping without Koji getting angry with me.

J.P., Zoe, and Tommy all de-digivolved. "Well, alrighty then." J.P. said.

"Win this battle and you could save the Digital World." Zoe said.

"Yeah, we really could, huh?" Takuya said.

"You bet!" Tommy laughed and made a peace sign with his hand.

"Well, I'm game if you are." Takuya said, looking at Koji.

"You don't mind staying behind?" Koji asked.

"Ah, come on! Why would we mind? After all, you're the ones who have to fight Cherubimon. EmperorGreymon and MagnaGarurumon are the only ones strong enough, but don't worry, we'll be here waiting for you." J.P. said.

"Wow, I'm touched." Koji said.

"I'm _touched. _Touch this! Just remember pal, if you lose, you'll have to answer to me!" J.P. teased.

"Right." Koji laughed.

"Relax, J.P., we've got everything under control." Takuya said.

"Yeah, buddy! I'm glad to hear it, men! And we'll all celebrate once you've won!" J.P. exclaimed.

"Yeah, when you guys defeat Cherubimon I'm going to cook a big yummy dinner for everybody!" Patamon said.

"I want to contribute something…I know! When you win, you can take me on a date!" Zoe exclaimed.

"I hope you mean Takuya…" I muttered, feeling very far away from this group of optimistic idiots.

J.P. almost fell over in surprise. Tommy puckered his lips, "Yeah, and I'm going to give you both a great big kiss on the cheek."

"That's just wrong." Koji and Takuya said at once.

I smacked my forehead with my palm and shook my head, there was something wrong with that kid.

"I'm going to knit you both matching waistbands that look exactly like mine." Bokomon said happily.

"Bokomon, you really shouldn't." The boys seemed exasperated.

Koji came over to me and grabbed my wrist leading me a little ways from everybody else. "So, what will _you _give me when I come back?" He asked.

I shrugged, "Everybody else seems to have taken the things that a girlfriend should give you."

"You know why you can't go, right?" He asked, looking directly into my eyes.

"Of course!" I said angrily. "But it doesn't make me feel any less useless." I whispered.

Koji immediately pressed his lips to mine, gently kissing away all my insecurity. "I don't think that you're useless." He said softly.

I smiled, "I know what I'll do when you come back."

"What's that?" He asked.

"I'll welcome you back with open arms, because if you _don't _come back, then I'll go and get you." I said.

He smiled, "I'll be looking forward to it." He gave me one last kiss before we headed back to where the others were.

"Alright, _now _I'm ready to go." Koji said.

"Before you go, there's something I need to tell you." Koichi said, walking towards Koji and Takuya. I felt like he was really just walking to Koji and Takuya was just standing there as well. Koji smiled at his brother. "You can do this."

Koji smiled, "Yeah."

"I believe in you, brother." Koichi said.

"Yeah…" Takuya walked away awkwardly. "Okay, I'm as ready as I'll ever be! How about it?"

Koji laughed, "Oh, yeah."

I groaned on the inside, they are such idiots.

"Now let's go make some history." Koji said.

"Then go already! I've got some rooting to do!" J.P. ordered.

Everyone brought out their D-Tectors, with the exception of me. "We're coming for you, Cherubimon!" Takuya exclaimed. "I don't know what's going to happen up there, but I do know that we'll need you guys to believe in us with everything you've got! You up for that?"

"Definitely!" Everyone shouted, while I just watched from the sidelines.

"Let's bring peace back to this world." Takuya said.

"This could be our last battle. I'm proud to be fighting it with you, Takuya." Koji said.

"I guess we better win then, huh?" Takuya asked.

Koji grinned, "Yeah."

"Go get 'em, guys!" J.P. exclaimed.

Everyone followed his example by shouting words of encouragement. "Don't forget what I said, Koji!" I yelled.

Koji sent me a grin and a thumbs up before turning back towards his objective. I sighed, that thumbs up wasn't really his style. Was Takuya rubbing off on him?

"Unity Execute, Unified Spirit Evolution! EmperorGreymon!"

"Unity Execute, Unified Spirit Evolution! MagnaGarurumon!"

"You ready?" EmperorGreymon asked.

"Let's do it."MagnaGarurumon replied.

We ran after them as they took off in the air. "Don't mess up guys! Hey, but no pressure!" J.P. shouted.

"Get him, get him!" Tommy yelled.

"Stay tough, we believe in you!" Zoe exclaimed.

"Fly strong, fly fast." Patamon continued with his saying. Neemon seemed to be copying him.

We had to stop due to a drop off in the way. "Come back safely!" Bokomon shouted. "Oh dear, just come back!"

My legs gave out and I plopped down on the ground. My body was already worn out from that small bit of running. "You better come back." I whispered as I pulled my knees to my chest and looked up at them making their way towards the "thingies", which were glowing for a second before growing dark again.

There was a very dark aura coming from the floating building. The battle begun, but it was very hard to see what was going on from our viewing point so far away. All I could see were exploding lights around the floating rocks. A giant explosion filled the sky, engulfing what looked like everything.

The dark aura was suddenly overwhelming, even from so far away. I closed my eyes and covered my ears, trying to escape from such an evil presence. I now recognized that it wasn't dark, just plain evil.

I felt something shaking me, but the evil aura was still so strong that I couldn't get a grip on myself. My wrists were grabbed and my hands were pried from my head. I opened my eyes just as red lightning filled the sky, attacking what looked like a castle. The red lightning stopped, only to be replaced by larger, purple lightning.

Something deep in my heart told me that something was wrong. "They're in trouble!" I jumped up, scaring Zoe, who had been holding my wrists. "I have to go and help!"

"But, you're too weak!" Zoe exclaimed.

"That doesn't matter right now! All that matters is that they are in trouble! Koji needs me!" I yelled as I grabbed my D-Tector from my pocket.

Koichi grabbed my wrist, "Don't do something rash. It will only get you hurt."

I glared at him, "What's your point?"

"Koji will be upset if you hurt yourself. Besides, you can't hope to accomplish anything in the state that you're in." Koichi said.

I yanked my wrist away, "You don't know what I'm capable of. Besides, he would do the same for me. It's not like I don't have a plan, I know exactly what I'm going to do. It will at least buy them some time, and it's not like it's all about me. We have to think of what's best for everyone."

"How is letting you go hurt yourself what's best for everyone?" Koichi asked.

"Let her go." Zoe said.

"Huh?" Koichi asked.

"When a girl knows that the one she's in love with is in trouble, nothing can stop her. It's useless to even try." Zoe said.

I blushed, "I never said that I loved him."

Zoe raised her eyebrows at me, "But you do, don't you?"

I nodded as I pressed the side button on my D-Tector, "Execute, Spirit Evolution! DeviAngewomon!" I took off, heading straight for Cherubimon.

"Wait, you won't be able to do any damage as your human spirit!" Koichi shouted after me.

I ignored him, knowing perfectly well that I couldn't even do a little bit of damage, but that wasn't the goal that I was hoping to accomplish. Cherubimon soon caught sight of me and started laughing, "So, the weak little Princess is hoping to try her luck against me?"

"Don't underestimate me! Evil Charm!" As I sent the black claw mark soaring at him, I caught sight of EmperorGreymon and MagnaGarurumon. They were both unconscious, lying on the rocks. I brought my attention back to Cherubimon, who had easily batted my attack away. "Heaven's Wave!" I released my angels, but didn't put any energy into it.

Cherubimon was trying to swat the little angels away, "What an annoyance."

While he was distracted, I flew over EmperorGreymon and MagnaGarurumon, "Celestial Blessing!" My healing powder covered them, sapping away all my energy. I plummeted towards the ground. I could barely even feel my body hit the ground, I was too exhausted. I fell out of my evolution as both MagnaGarurumon and EmperorGreymon woke up, their energy completely renewed.

MagnaGarurumon caught sight of me, "Jade!"

I smiled slightly, "I told you that I'd come after you."

"How touching, the Princess did all this just so her worthless "protectors" might have a chance against me. Too bad that no amount of new energy can give you a chance against me!" Cherubimon mocked.

I frowned, "Koji, I'm tired. I'm going to take a little nap. While I sleep, teach him a lesson." I closed my eyes, giving into my exhaustion.

"_Well, that was handled well." _Hope's voice echoed through my mind.

"Why do I feel like you're using sarcasm?" I asked, annoyance in my voice.

"_I am not being sarcastic. It was a good plan, though risky and not something that I myself would think of." _Hope said.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, how are we doing? Are we winning?" I asked.

"_Yes." _Hope replied.

"Really? Does that mean that we can go home soon?" I asked.

"_No, you still have other enemies to face, even stronger than Cherubimon." _Hope replied.

"What? But I thought that Cherubimon was the big bad guy at the end of our journey." I said.

"_This is your real enemy." _Hope said as I became aware of a red orb that looked like it had fingerprints on it.

"What is that thing?" I asked.

"_It is the center of the Digital World. Inside it is Lucemon." _Hope said.

"Lucemon? I thought that the original Legendary Warriors took care of him long ago." I said.

"_He was defeated, but has been regaining energy as time passed. He was the one who corrupted Cherubimon." _We were suddenly pushed into the red orb. Inside, was a glowing pink orb.

My eyes widened as I saw a sphere of data get sucked into the pink orb. "Was that the data that Cherubimon had collected from the Digital World?"

A pink orb and a blue orb burst from the pink orb, heading towards the surface of the Digital World. "_Yes, and now Lucemon has sent his two warriors to collect the remaining data from the Digital World. It will be no easy task defeating them, and Lucemon is even stronger." _Hope's voice was beginning to fade, "_Prepare to face this new enemy. Sleep for a while and let yourself heal. The Legendary Warriors will need all the help that they can get."_

I drifted into a dreamless sleep, knowing that there was a lot of work that still had to be done before we could go home.

**A/N: Lots of writer's block for that one short chapter, I know. Tell me what you think with a review. :)**


	24. It Can't Be! Lucemon Reappears

**A/N: Wow, it's been a long time. Sorry for the wait. I've just been busy. But, I'm hoping to finish this really soon. I would like to thank Cardfighter By Heart, J-Jwolfx2.5, Cathrinejennings2015, and YamazakiHikari for reviewing chapter 23.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for Jade.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 24<br>It Can't Be! Lucemon Reappears**

"What's happening?" A voice yelled, interrupting my sleep.

"The data was scanned!" Another voice yelled and I was suddenly aware of my hair moving in a harsh wind.

"Could Cherubimon still be alive?" I now knew that the voices were shouting to be heard over the wind.

"It can't be!" The first voice yelled in reply.

"Let's go see." The second voice, who I now identified as Takuya said.

The wind died down, giving me a chance to open my eyes. I looked around in confusion, everyone was standing in a line, looking away from where I was lying on the ground. I sat up slowly, but still felt a head rush. "Ugh, what's going on?" I asked.

Everyone turned to look at me in surprise, "Jade?"

Koji knelt down next to me, "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty well rested, actually. That is, for a girl who just found out that the greatest enemy of our spirits is going to try to kill us." I said.

"What?" Everyone asked.

I explained all that Hope had told me while I was asleep.

"Lucemon is back? How is that possible?" Takuya demanded.

I sighed, "Takuya, weren't you paying attention? Lucemon wasn't completely destroyed when he was defeated by the spirits. He has been regaining his power and even manipulated Cherubimon to collect data for him. Now, Lucemon has sent out two warriors to collect the remaining data from the Digital World."

Takuya pouted, "I was paying attention, I'm just saying, we defeated Cherubimon, so why didn't the data go back to where it belonged?"

I shrugged, "Probably because Cherubimon was only a pawn. The data was never meant for him."

"That was one powerful pawn." J.P. said, looking at the destruction around us.

I nodded, "And it looks like Lucemon is about to bring his knights into play."

We watched as some mountains in the distance began to vanish, two figures flying around gleefully were the collectors.

"Well, looks like the knights are ready to play. Should we go?" Zoe asked.

"We have to." I said. "Unless you guys would rather go home, leaving this place to be destroyed by the likes of Lucemon."

"Never." Takuya said.

I grinned, "That's what I thought you'd say. Now, who's ready to kick some butt?"

Everyone cheered and Koji helped me up. "Have you been taking lessons from Takuya?" He asked with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes, "Takuya wishes he was cool enough to tell everyone that someone is coming that is twice as strong as Cherubimon and still get them to fight. By the way, I'm glad that you're okay." I kissed his cheek and smiled at him.

He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight, "Speaking of, don't ever do something that reckless again."

I hugged him back, "No promises."

"Um, sorry to interrupt this little love scene, but I thought we were going to go kick some butt." Takuya said, making Koji and me turn to face him.

I laughed, "Alright, we can go kick some butt now."

We all got out our D-Tectors, "Execute, Fusion Evolution!"

"Execute, Spirit Evolution!"

"Aldamon!"

"Beowolfmon!"

"LadyBlackGatowomon!"

"Beetlemon!"

"Kazemon!"

"Kumamon!"

"Loweemon!"

We quickly made our way over to the place where the mountain used to be. What we found were two digimon laughing, just as gleefully as they had been flying. The first digimon had pink and gold armor and was holding a rose. The second digimon had white and gold armor, along with black, tattered wings.

"Ah, look who it is!" The pink digimon said.

"Yes, it is just as Lord Lucemon predicted!" The second digimon exclaimed gleefully.

"The Legendary Warriors are here to greet us." The pink digimon laughed.

"Hey, you big bullies! We aren't going to let you destroy anything else!" Kumamon said.

"Yeah, who do you think you are, anyway?" J.P. asked.

"I am Dynasmon, the passionate warrior!" The digimon with gold and white armor said.

"And I am Crusadermon, the indifferent warrior." The pink digimon said.

"We are here for Lord Lucemon's justice." The two warrior digimon said together.

"We have come to fulfill Lucemon's destiny as his emissaries of evil!" Dynasmon exclaimed.

"We are supporters of his right to become this world's supreme ruler. We serve Lord Lucemon by collecting fractal code." Crusadermon said.

"And we are known to all as the Royal Knights!" They exclaimed.

Aldamon looked at me, "So, Lucemon is sending in his knights, huh?"

"That's sort of creepy how right you were." Kazemon said.

"Hey, it's not _my _fault! I was just comparing this to a game of chess!" I exclaimed, feeling annoyed with their pestering.

"Hey, you _have _to admit that it is kind of creepy." Beetlemon said.

"Well, I guess it is sort of creepy." I admitted.

"Um, hello? We weren't done with our introduction to destroying the world!" Dynasmon complained.

"Yes, what horrid manners you children have." Crusadermon said.

"Wait a minute, Royal Knights? Shouldn't the Royal Knights be protecting royalty? Such as her?" Kumamon asked, pointing to me.

"This world is disordered. The Princess of the Digital World may have returned, but she has done nothing to make things right." Crusadermon said.

"The only one who can fix this world is Lord Lucemon!" Dynasmon exclaimed.

The two Royal Knights dug their hands into the ground, immediately drawing out the fractal code.

"This is our task, and we shall complete it!" Dynasmon exclaimed.

"Stop! Stop it now!" Aldamon shouted.

We began circling the duo, waiting for Adamon's signal to attack.

"You can't keep up your destructive ways!" Aldamon shouted.

"The Digital World belongs to everyone!" Beowolfmon said.

"You have no right to wreck it!" Kumamon said.

"Don't you understand what will happen here if Lucemon is revived?" Kazemon asked.

"Now there is only chaos, but Lucemon will restore order!" Dynasmon exclaimed.

"Putting things into their natural order is necessary and beautiful." Crusadermon said, almost happily.

"Lord Lucemon will be the supreme salvation for this world!" The two Royal Knights said together.

I could feel the other Legendary Warriors getting antsy and I knew it was only a matter of time before one of them attacked.

"Not quite!" Beetlemon attacked with his Thunder Fist.

"So it begins…" I said, watching from the shadows. While everyone else always seemed to jump head-first into a battle, I knew it was better for me to watch and wait for an opening.

Aldamon and Beowolfmon both attacked Dynasmon, but Dynasmon didn't even seem to be trying that hard. "Crusadermon, proceed with the data collection, while I take care of these nuisances."

Loweemon, Kazemon, and Kumamon all attacked Crusadermon at once. Crusadermon was easily able to hold back their attacks.

"Thunder Fist!" Beetlemon tried to bring his fist down upon Crusadermon, but she just jumped out of the way.

"And now I will take my leave of you so I can gather more data. I bid you ado with all my heart." She waved her hand and red petals fell in a shower over Loweemon, Kazemon, Kumamon, and Beetlemon.

I took this as my time to strike, "Darkness Noose!" I took the chain from my waist and wrapped it around Crusadermon.

"Ah, so the Princess has chosen to make her appearance? To what do I owe this pleasure?" Crusadermon asked.

I glared at her, "Stop this! Hasn't this world been through enough?"

"No, this world is still very disorderly. Surely _you_ must understand what must be done in order to make this world perfect. Or are your emotions clouding your judgment?" Crusadermon asked.

I pulled her closer and held my hand back, "Wicked Claws!"

She broke free of the chains and grabbed my wrist, "Don't get in my way. Lucemon doesn't want to see you get hurt, dear Princess."

"Oh, no you don't! Shadow Meteor!" Loweemon attacked her from behind.

"Blizzard Blaster!"

"Hurricane Wave!"

"Thunder Fist!"

The attacks merged together, heading straight for Crusadermon's back.

"I warn you, do not interfere!" Dynasmon pushed Aldamon and Beowolfmon away, "DNA Disintegrator!" He sent blue and red light beams out of his hands, right at Loweemon, Kumamon, Kazemon, and Beetlemon.

They began to fall to the ground. "Yes, strength is justice." He began to laugh.

"Solar Wind Destroyer!"

"Frozen Hunter!" Aldamon and Beowolfmon took this chance to attack while Dynasmon was distracted.

Dynasmon laughed as the attacks hit him, "You think to challenge me with such weak attacks? Dragon Thrower!" Bullets of blue and red energy shot out and hit my two friends directly.

"No!" I screamed as they began to fall, their digivolutions falling away. I turned toward Crusadermon, "Poison Fang!"

"Fist of Fear!" Crusadermon shot me before I could dig my fangs into her. Each blow came in a new spot, my stomach, my right arm, my left wing, and, finally, my chest.

I coughed and felt my spirit dissolve from my human body. Crusadermon laughed as she held my arm, preventing me from falling, "Stupid girl. You may have the spirit of Hope, but you are far from ever beating me. Lucemon will be quite pleased with your weakened state. Dynasmon, take this annoyance." She threw me toward her comrade.

I winced as I hit his hard armor, coughing as I did. Crusadermon flew down to the ground and dug her fingers in, draining the land of its fractal code.

"Slide Evolution!" I heard my friends say.

"JagerLoweemon!"

"Zephyrmon!"

"Korikakumon!"

"MetalKabuterimon!"

"Ebony Blast!"

"Hurricane Gale!"

"Frozen Arrowheads!"

"Bolos Thunder!"

My friends once again tried to combine their attacks against Crusadermon. Crusadermon laughed as she dodged each and every one of them. "Spiral Masquerade!" Golden sashes came from her armor and began slicing at my friends.

They all fell to the ground, and out of their evolutions. Crusadermon laughed, "Justice is beautiful!"

"How does it feel, knowing that you're precious Legendary Warriors can do nothing against us?" Dynasmon asked me.

"You haven't seen anything yet! Just you wait, they will defeat you!" I replied, squirming in his grasp.

He held me tighter, squeezing my arms, "Just hold still. We wouldn't want you falling to your death."

"Why not? After all, you believe that I am useless as a princess." I replied.

"Yes, but Lord Lucemon wishes to meet with you." Dynasmon replied.

"Unity Execute! Unified Spirit Evolution!" Two voices shouted at once from below.

"EmperorGreymon!"

"MagnaGarurumon!"

"Oh, a new challenge. This may require us to get serious!" Dynasmon said gleefully. "Now, I'll just check their reflexes really quick." Dynasmon threw me towards my two friends.

I screamed, "Koji, Takuya, you better catch me!"

"Jade!" MagnaGarurumon caught me in his arms, "Are you okay?"

I nodded, "Kick his butt for me, okay?"

"Don't worry; we're tired of these creeps." EmperorGreymon assured me.

MagnaGarurumon set me down beside the others, "Don't do anything stupid."

I stuck my tongue out at him, "Kick their butts and I won't have to!"

"Dominating our enemies for Lucemon is truly a thing of beauty." Crusadermon said.

EmperorGreymon went at Dynasmon with his sword, jabbing at him as quick as he could. Then, EmperorGreymon swung his sword toward Dynasmon.

"You missed." Dynasmon said.

"Oh, did I?" EmperorGreymon's sword opened up for, "Dragonfire Crossbow!" The blast of fiery light sent Dynasmon into the ground.

"Magna Missile!" MagnaGarurumon fired at Crusadermon.

Laughter came through the fire. "Dragon Thrower!" Dynasmon went for EmperorGreymon, hitting him directly.

"Disc of Athena!" Crusadermon drove her shield into MagnaGarurumon's stomach.

"Come on!"

"I know you can do it!"

"Don't give up!"

"You can do it, you two!"

We watched as our only hopes fell. I couldn't process the words of the others. My body was shaking and I felt tears welling up in my eyes. "No."

The shouts of my friends were getting louder, "We won't let you get away with this!"

"There is no way that Lucemon will win!"

"Shut up, humans!" The two Royal Knight Digimon merely waved their arms at us and bursts of power came from them.

I grabbed my D-Tector, "Execute, Spirit Evolution! DeviAngewomon!" I stood in front of my friends, attempting to block them from the attacks.

"Jade!" I heard the screams from behind me.

The attacks hit and I dug my feet in, taking every bit of pain that they would give. After a moment, I felt myself fly back and heard a thump as my human body hit the ground. I realized that I was barely conscious and that my vision was blacking out. I looked around to see that, despite my attempts, everyone else was on the ground and their fractal codes were showing. I frowned, why did they have fractal codes? I noticed that Koichi didn't have a fractal code and was sitting up slowly, holding his arm in pain.

I blinked to get the dark spots out of my vision and I heard a child-like voice say, "Hurry my Royal Knights. The data. Bring me the data! All of it. Now!"

I saw a little angel boy with wings standing before me. "So, you're the new Princess?"

I frowned, "Who are you, little boy?"

He laughed, his voice sounding musical and enchanting, "You must be confused. I am not a little boy."

I nodded, "So, you're an angel?"

He shrugged, "I suppose that's what you humans would call me."

I frowned, "Wait, did I die?"

He shook his head, "No. You are here because I called you here."

I blinked, "What do you want with me?"

"I'm telling you to leave the Digital World. You do not belong there." He replied.

"What do you mean? Of course I belong there!" I exclaimed.

"You're friends do not need you. Did you not notice that your spirit was not needed when they combined with each other? That is because you were never meant to be here with them. It is only by chance that you received the message to come here." He said.

"No, I was called here because I'm a Legendary Warrior!" I said.

"Hundreds of children were brought into the Digital World. They were sent back because they weren't the Legendary Warriors. You should have been sent back with them." He replied.

I swallowed, "But I can transform into a Digimon."

"There are others like you that can also turn into Digimon, but they were sent back, because they were not a part of the Legendary Warriors." He said.

"So, it was only a fluke that I was able to get my spirit? I don't actually belong?" I bit my lip. I had never truly belonged anywhere, had I?

The angel smiled at me, "Don't worry, it will all be over soon. You will come upon a chance to go home. Take it."

I nodded and my vision blurred as a familiar voice sounded around me, "Jade, please wake up."

I blinked until I was looking up at Koji.

He gasped, "Jade? How are you feeling?"

I swallowed, "I'm fine. What happened?"

"Dynasmon used a really powerful attack and we were sent flying to the moon. Now we are trying to find a way back down to the Digital World in order to defeat Lucemon. Right now, everyone is outside brainstorming in their digivolutions." Koji explained.

I put my legs over the side of the bed and stood up, "Shall we go help them?"

He laced his fingers through mine, "Sure."

We walked outside before digivolving, "Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution!"

"Gatowomon!"

"KendoGarurumon!"

We saw the others, each trying different ways to get off the moon. Agunimon caught sight of us, "Finally! Now we can put my big plan into action! On my signal, everyone fire that way!" He pointed off into space.

"Alright!" We said.

"Now!"

"Midnight Eyes!"

"Lupine Laser!"

"Tempest Twist!"

"Bolo Thunder!"

"Blizzard Blaster!"

"Shadow Meteor!"

"And last, but certainly not least, Pyro Punch!"

I watched as all our attacks went over the horizon. I frowned, "So, why did we do that?"

"Well, that ought to take care of whatever we were shooting at." MetalKabuterimon said.

"What exactly were we shooting at, anyway?" KendoGarurumon asked.

"Well, nothing specific. We were just firing that way." Agunimon replied.

"For what purpose?" I asked.

"Now I'm confused and annoyed." KendoGarurumon said.

"What were you trying to do, genius?" MetalKabuterimon asked.

"I don't know. I thought if we all fired in one direction maybe we could move the moon." Agunimon replied.

A laugh escaped from my lips. Then another, then another, before I knew it, I was rolling in the moon dust, laughing as hard as I could. I stood up, "Call me back when you actually come up with a productive plan."

"Hey! That was a good plan!" Agunimon exclaimed.

"Sure, sure." I walked away, still chuckling slightly at Takuya's idiotic idea.

I sat down on the ground once I was away from the others and sighed. Was the angel boy right? Did I really not belong here?

"Hey, how's it going?" I looked up to see Loweemon standing above me.

I shrugged, "Fine. What about you?"

"I'm good." He replied.

There was an awkward silence and I was just about to make an excuse to get away when he suddenly spoke, "You know, Koji was really worried about you."

I blinked, "Huh?"

"After the fight with Cherubimon and even just a little while ago when you hadn't woken up. Koji was really worried about you. You keep on doing risky things, and it's only going to make him worry more." He said.

I looked down, "What do you want me to do? I can't just stand by as my friends are being hurt. They would risk anything for me, so I don't see why it's any different for me to do the same. After all, we've been through a lot together."

He held his hands up in surrender, "I'm not criticizing you. I'm just letting you know that, as someone else who cares about Koji, I'm worried about you getting hurt and hurting Koji."

I winced, "Ouch. I get it. You don't want me around. I'll keep that in mind." I stood up and walked away.

"No, wait, that's not what I meant!" Loweemon called after me.

I waved him off, continuing to walk on my own. It seems that the angel was right. All I was doing was getting in the way and keeping Koji from his full potential. I frowned, if I wouldn't have been there, could they have beaten Dynasmon and Crusadermon?

I stared up at the night sky, wondering who the others who could digivolve were. Did they know that they could digivolve? Or were they simply sent back to earth, oblivious to the war going on here? I shook my head, it wouldn't do any good to sit and think about something that I couldn't change.

"Hey guys, come see what I found!" Loweemon's voice echoed across the moon.

I ran over to where everyone but MetalKabuterimon was gathered around a giant crater made by a rocket. "I just looked down and there it was." Loweemon explained.

"I can't believe it." Agunimon said.

"Amazing." KendoGarurumon agreed.

"Hey, you guys, check it out! I know how to get us back to the Digital World!" MetalKabuterimon called. "You're going to love this! All we have to do is build ourselves…"

"A rocket?" Agunimon asked.

"Yeah! How'd you know?" MetalKabuterimon asked. "Hey! Where'd that come from?" He finally saw the rocket in the ground.

"Our friends built it!" A group of Burgermon replied. "That's the one they used for testing, but as you can see it didn't work so good."

"Hey, can we use it?" Agunimon asked.

"Of course you can." The Burgermon replied.

"Then what are we waiting for?" KendoGarurumon asked.

"Let's get that thing out of the ground!" Agunimon exclaimed.

"It's pretty heavy. Maybe we can help!" The Burgermon said.

"Yeah, we'll help you, too!" A group of Digimon that looked like Gotsumon chimed in.

"Thanks guys, we'd appreciate it." Agunimon said.

"If we help you get back to the Digital World, maybe you can help our friends down there." The Burgermon said.

We built a lever and pulley system around the rocket, then proceeded to pull on the rope in order to get the rocket out. We pulled and pulled until the rocket finally came out of the ground.

"Yeah, we finally got it out of the ground!" Agunimon exclaimed.

"Now how do we launch it?" KendoGarurumon asked.

"We can answer that!" A group of Starmon came riding up along with SuperStarmon and Kumamon.

"Yeah, we know exactly how to get us into space!" Kumamon said.

"Alright, how?" Agunimon asked.

"We could use those!" Kazemon pointed at their vehicles.

"I get it; we glue those bands together to make a giant slingshot!" Agunimon exclaimed.

I shook my head, sometimes I wondered about the crazy ideas that my friends got into their heads. Using normal logic, there is no way that this should ever work, but in the Digital World, it just might be possible. After all, if we could turn into Digimon, then why should I doubt anything anymore?

We hooked the bands to two giant rocks that lined up perfectly with the Digital World. We got inside the rocket and prepared to launch. According to SuperStarmon, we would have to launch as soon as the moons lined up with the Digital World.

"Thanks for your help, everybody." Takuya was saying to the Burgermon.

"And thanks for your help to our friends in the Digital World." The Burgermon replied. "You will do that, won't you?"

"We promise." Koji said.

"And we always keep our promises." I said.

All the digimon waved to us as we boarded the rocket. "Okay guys, next stop, the Digital World!" Takuya exclaimed.

"We may not remember how we got here, but we're sure going to remember getting back." Koichi said.

"The moons are aligned." Zoe said.

"Yeah." J.P. said.

"Oh, wow, this is exciting!" Tommy said, but he looked worried.

"Don't worry, Tommy. I'm sure that we'll make it through just fine." I said.

"This waiting is unbearable." Bokomon said.

"Let's have a sing-along!" Neemon exclaimed.

"No!" I said immediately.

"You're no fun." Neemon pouted.

Without warning, we were flung into space, straight toward the Digital World. We braced ourselves as our bodies sunk deep into our seats.

The rocket began tipping downward, much to our dismay.

"We don't have enough speed!" J.P. exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I'm all over it!" Takuya said. "Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution! BurningGreymon!"

BurningGreymon got underneath the rocket and began to lift us up, using fire to propel us forward.

"We're gaining speed! Way to go, Takuya!" Zoe said.

"Nice Work!" Koji said.

We followed a stream right to the Digital World and Takuya got back in the ship.

"Now we're right back on target." Takuya said.

The blue stream sent electrical currents surging around us. We groaned as the currents coursed through our bodies. "We're almost through it!" Takuya said.

The currents stopped and we continued toward the Digital World. "All right! We're safe!" Zoe said.

"Not for long." Koichi said, pointing towards a group of asteroids in our way.

"Oh man, an asteroid belt!" J.P. exclaimed.

"More good news!" Takuya said bitterly.

"Focus on steering, Taky!" I said as he narrowly missed an asteroid.

"Hey, no backseat driving!" Takuya replied.

"Here comes a big one!" J.P. said.

Takuya dodged it, but now we were spinning out of control. We screamed as we exited the stream that was supposed to be our way back to the Digital World.

"We're out of the stream again!" Takuya announced.

"Really? I hadn't noticed!" I said.

"The sarcasm is not appreciated." Takuya replied.

We began to float around due to the low gravity in the rocket.

"Hey, this is fun!" Tommy exclaimed.

"Feets go up, head goes down!" Neemon said as he floated upside down.

"Yeah, this could be fun, but I'm over it already." Koji said, crossing his arms.

I smirked and pushed him, causing us to go opposite directions, "Don't act so mature. You know that you love this!"

"My skirt keeps falling up, I mean down, I mean up, I mean whatever! Just nobody look!" Zoe exclaimed.

J.P. and Takuya made efforts not to look at the blonde girl.

"You heard her, J.P." Takuya said.

"What are you looking at me for? You were looking way more than me!" J.P. argued.

"No way! I'm not a pervert like you!" Takuya replied.

"Let's just agree that you're both perverts." I suggested with a laugh.

"Hey!" They both glared at me.

The rocket shook around us. "What was that?" Bokomon asked.

"Excuse me, but you're in my way." A Trailmon tried to push us from behind again.

"Wait you guys, it's a Trailmon." Takuya said.

The Trailmon continued hitting us from behind.

Zoe banged on the window, "Um, excuse me! Would you mind giving us a little push home?"

"Well, I suppose that I could leap over you, but that seems like an awful lot of work." The Trailmon said before pushing us down the tracks at a steady rate.

"Graci, Mr. Trailmon!" Zoe exclaimed.

"My nose is gonna be so sore tomorrow." The Trailmon complained.

We watched as another section of the Digital World disappeared.

"Would you look at the damage they've done?" Koji said.

"With the rate that they're going, there won't be much of a Digital World left to save." J.P. said.

"Now that we're back, we've got a score to settle with those Royal Knights." Koji said.

"And Lucemon! We're not gonna lose twice! The whole Digital World is counting on us!" Takuya said.

I looked down at my feet, they were counting on _them_. The Legendary Warriors were expected to do this, but did I really deserve to be there with them?

**A/N: Well, that's it. I'm sure that you are now thoroughly confused. Please review and I will try and get the next chapter up ASAP. :)**


	25. The Bully Pulpit

**A/N: Okay, so here it is. This is my favorite episode, so I hope that you'll understand why I made it all about Tommy. I would like to thank Pana-sule, kojiluvr, Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967, Digidestined Ninja of Sunshine, AllSpark Princess, and theradioactivephoenix for reviewing chapter 24.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I only own Jade…that sounds weird to own a person, doesn't it? Knowing Jade's character, if she was real, she would kick my butt for even thinking that.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 25<br>The Bully Pulpit**

We pulled up in a Trailmon station and exited the Trailmon. We had ditched the rocket as soon as we were back on the Digital World, but Zoe convinced the Trailmon to take us to the next station.

"Thanks for the lift." Takuya said.

"I'm just glad I didn't mess it up." The Trailmon replied before easing its way out of the station.

"Thanks!"

"Goodbye!"

"Have a safe trip!"

"Be careful!"

"Watch out for the Royal Knights!"

Our goodbyes echoed through the station as we watched the Trailmon leave. We began walking out of the station into the shiny city.

"Where are we, anyway?" Takuya asked.

"Steel Town. The whole town is made of steel." Bokomon replied.

"Gee, never would have guessed that from the name." J.P. said.

Koji looked at me, raising his eyebrows, "What? No comment?"

I shrugged, "J.P. seems to have gotten the gist of what I was about to say."

"Wow, it's all so shiny and bright!" Tommy said happily.

"Yeah, bright is right! Some of those buildings are reflecting right in my eyes!" Zoe put her hand over her eyes to shield them from the reflections.

"I bet you guys wish you had a cool pair of goggles right about now." Takuya said.

Koichi and Koji shared a look as they scoffed, "Yeah, right. All the cool kids wear goggles." Koji rolled his eyes at the goggle-head.

We laughed and Takuya hurried to defend himself, "Well, they will!"

We continued walking until we came upon a ditch in-between the shiny buildings.

"Let's walk in there. After all, not all of us have "a cool pair of goggles"." Zoe said, smirking at Takuya.

"Whatever, you're just jealous." Takuya said, taking the lead.

I rolled my eyes, "Just keep believing that, Taky."

"It's not so shiny and clean here." Tommy noticed as we continued walking.

Dust appeared along the ditch, indicating that someone was coming. I was slightly curious as to who it might be when I heard an idiotic laugh along with it and decided that I didn't care.

"What is that?" Tommy asked as a Digimon appeared from out of the dust. It looked like a blue centaur with red and black armor.

"Sagittarimon, half-man, half-horse, and all mean. His judgment arrow attack is three prongs of pain." Bokomon informed us.

Sagittarimon stomped his foot, "Stop right there, humans! While I have nothing against you personally, I must demand that you hand over all of your obsessions!"

I looked at my friends, "Is he for real?"

Zoe grinned at me, "Of course. He wants you're obsessions. So, you better hand Koji over."

I felt my face heat up as my blush crept across my face, "I don't know what you're talking about!"

Koji chuckled, "You're face is red."

"Fine, if you don't want to hand over Koji, then Koji is just going to have to hand you over." Zoe said with a wink.

Koji's face grew red, "Even if she was my obsession, which she's not, I wouldn't hand Jade over to anyone."

My blush grew even deeper and I looked at my feet, "Um, thanks…I think."

"Don't mention it." He said and I peeked up to see that he was looking at his own feet.

"Ugh! That is not what I meant! I mean your possessions. I should have just said stuff like I usually do. I never should have bought that thesaurus." Sagittarimon said angrily.

"So you have nothing better to do than rob us?" Tommy asked.

"That's right. Now if you don't wanna get hurt, hand over your obsessions." Sagittarimon demanded.

"Go on, Jade." Zoe teased.

I rolled my eyes.

"I can't believe we're being robbed by someone this dumb!" J.P. exclaimed. "You mean possessions, right?"

"Yeah, that's what I said, isn't it?" Sagittarimon asked.

"Alright, just give us a second." Takuya said.

We gathered in a circle in order to discuss what to do next.

"There's no way he's with the Royal Knights." Koichi said.

"Yeah, let's just get rid of him and be on our way." J.P. said.

"I second that statement." I said.

"What's wrong? Just hand it over." Sagittarimon said.

"I'm afraid we're gonna have to say no to that." Koji said as we turned toward Sagittarimon.

"What?" Sagittarimon asked.

"Look, we don't have time for this so why don't you just leave before you get hurt?" Takuya offered.

"Trust me, you're the one who's gonna be hurtin'!" Sagittarimon looked like he was going to sting an arrow through his bow.

"Stop!" A voice echoed through the ditch.

"What now?" Sagittarimon looked up.

We looked up to see four kids standing at the edge of the ditch, looking down at Sagittarimon.

I gasped in surprise, could these be the other children that the angel boy was talking about? Did the angel not know that they stayed in the Digital World as well?

"Who's that?" Takuya asked.

"Human kids, but how?" Koji asked.

"Well, perhaps other humans are working to save the Digital World too." Bokomon suggested.

I looked at everyone and noticed that Tommy looked shocked.

"Hey, you! Are you the no-good Digimon who's been stealing from everybody around here?" The tallest boy in the group asked.

"So what if I am?" Sagittarimon asked.

"Well, then you're gonna get it!" The boy with glasses exclaimed.

I smiled, were they going to use their spirits to evolve?

"From who? You guys? A bunch of puny little kids? I could take you, easy. Even if you teamed up with these guys over here." Sagittarimon bragged.

"Yeah, but we're not the ones you should be worrying about." The tallest boy said.

From behind him, an Angemon flew up and down into the ditch.

"Who's that?" Koichi asked.

"Whoever he is, he sure is impressive." Zoe said.

"His name is Angemon." I said.

The others looked at me in surprise, but I just continued looking at the angel Digimon.

"I'm gonna be like him!" Patamon exclaimed.

"Okay." Sagittarimon readied his bow. "Judgment Arrow!"

Angemon used his staff to block the attack and continued toward Sagittarimon. Angemon knocked the bow out of the surprised Sagittarimon's hands and held his staff to Sagittarimon's neck, "Time for you to go. Go on, get out of here!"

"I'll remember this!" Sagittarimon yelled as he ran away.

I stepped forward, "Angemon?"

The angel Digimon turned toward me, "Princess, I-"

I held my hand up to cut him off, "You shall call me Jade. I do not wish for these children to know about us unless necessary."

"Good job, Angemon!" The tall boy shouted.

"Are you kids okay?" The boy with glasses asked.

I frowned, "Who is he calling a kid?"

Koji chuckled and grinned at me.

"Wait a second!" The tall boy said.

"Hey, look, it's Tommy!" The bespectacled boy exclaimed.

"Looks like more friends for Tommy!" Bokomon said.

While everyone stared at the kids, I looked down at Tommy. He was looking at the ground, obviously troubled over something. I frowned, was he mad that they were here? Or was he worried about their safety?

"Come on, we'll take you back to where we're staying." The tall boy said.

We followed them to a tall orange building in the middle of town. They led us inside to a room where we could all sit down and face each other.

"So, who are you kids and how did you get here?" Koji asked.

"Well, my name is Katsuharu, and we got here just like all the other kids, on the trains." The tall boy said.

"I'm Teppei." The boy with glasses said.

"I'm Teruo." The shortest boy said.

"And I'm Chiaki." The girl said.

"So, wait, are you telling me that you guys have been in the Digital World the whole time that we have?" Takuya asked. "You came on the trains too?"

"Yep." Katsuharu replied. "After we got on the train we ended up at the Forest Terminal with a bunch of other confused kids. I mean, we weren't confused like them, but, well, you know what I mean. Anyway, we started talking to some other kids and that's how we met Teruo and Chiaki. Then this chick told us all to get back on board and go home, but we were like, forget that! This place rocks! We wanna stick around and see what happens next. So, that's what we did. Pretty soon we met Angemon and we've been travelling around ever since. You know, like having adventures, fighting injustices, that kind of stuff."

"It's just like TV only we're in it. And sure it's been dangerous, but we have Angemon with us." Teppei said.

Katsuharu looked at Tommy, finally noticing his discomfort. "Hey, Tommy? We're sorry about picking on you."

Tommy scoffed but didn't look up. I frowned, these kids picked on Tommy?

"It's not safe here. You guys really should have gotten on that train if Ophanimon told you to do it." Koji said.

"Ophanimon? Oh, is she the one that's been sending us those e-mails on our cell phones?" Teruo asked.

"Yeah, we used to get messages all the time when we first got here. But we haven't received any for a while now." Chiaki said.

I frowned, so they weren't the kids that the angel boy had been talking about? I sighed, looks like I still didn't belong.

"You're phones? Why's that? Did you guys have your D-Tectors stolen from you or something?" J.P. asked.

"What's a D-Tector?" Teppei asked.

We looked at each other, obviously not sure whether we should tell them or not. I shrugged, I didn't think that they needed to know any more than necessary.

"Alright, we get to ask some questions now. Like, what are you doing here?" Katsuharu asked.

"Actually, we're trying to restore peace to the entire Digital World." J.P. said.

I snorted, he almost sounded cool right there.

"Huh? World peace?" Katsuharu asked before they all burst out laughing.

"Totally groovy." Teppei said.

"How are you guys gonna save the entire world by yourselves?" Teruo asked.

"Yeah, look what you have for Digimon!" Katsuharu said as they looked at Bokomon, Neemon, and Patamon. "They couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag."

I rolled my eyes, these kids were definitely too ignorant to belong in the Digital World.

"Yeah, it looks like the most those things could do to save the world is volunteer to pick up the trash!" Teppei said and they all laughed.

I nodded slightly, it was true, but Bokomon had helped us with his brains and Patamon had once been Seraphimon and Neemon…well, Neemon was comic relief.

"Oh, yeah? Well we have the spirits of the 10 Legendary Warriors, so there!" Takuya said, acting childish, as usual.

Koji held his hand up and shot Takuya a look, stopping him from continuing.

"But we do…" Takuya said.

Koji shook his head.

Luckily, the kids were too busy laughing to pay attention to what Takuya had been saying. "They'd probably get hurt even doing that!" Teruo said.

"Listen! You should go home. You're just gonna get hurt if you stick around here." Koichi said.

"Huh?" The kids looked shocked.

"Come on, you guys don't even know what you're doing. You've been lucky so far, but sooner or later you're going to run into something you won't be able to handle." Koichi said.

"What do you know?" Katsuharu asked, glaring at Koichi.

"We know there's some real dangerous stuff here, like the Royal Knights." Koji said, sticking up for his brother.

"Yeah, they're the reason why pieces of this world keep disappearing." Zoe said.

"They wanna destroy the whole place and don't care who goes with it." Takuya said. "And you guys could be next."

"And if we couldn't handle them, then there is no way that you guys could." I said.

"Hey, you guys can't tell us what to do. You're not our fathers!" Teppei complained.

"Yeah! We've been doing just fine so far! Maybe you're the little babies who need to run home to mama! We're out of here!" Katsuharu said as they walked away.

"And you know what, Tommy? I'm not sorry for picking on you!" Katsuharu said.

I sighed, "Spoken like true children."

"Good riddance to bad rubbish, that's what I say. Anyway, it's all out of our hands now." J.P. said.

Takuya, Koichi, Koji, Bokomon, Neemon, and Patamon all started for the entrance to the building, obviously done talking about it.

"Well, I think that we should try and convince Chiaki and Teruo. It seemed like they were just following along with what Katsuharu and Teppei were saying." Zoe said.

"I'll go with you!" J.P. said, standing up.

Zoe looked at me, "Are you coming?"

I looked at Tommy, "Nah, I'm gonna stay here for a while."

She shrugged, "Alright."

They left and I was left alone with Tommy.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, refusing to look at me.

"You know, you can talk to me, or anyone else, for that matter. Everyone needs someone to talk to every once in a while. We won't think that you're childish for it." I said.

He looked up at me and smiled, "Thanks, Jade, but I kind of want to be alone right now."

I stood, "Do you want me to leave?"

He shook his head, "I'll go. I wanted to look around this place anyway." He stood up and ran down the hall, waving as he went.

I smiled as I watched him go.

"Jade, is everything okay?" I looked up to see Angemon standing before me.

I nodded, "I'm just worried about some things. You know, the rise of Lucemon and such."

He nodded, "Yes, that is something to worry about."

"So, why are you protecting those kids?" I asked. "Not that I disapprove, I'm just curious."

"Ophanimon ordered me to watch over them. I left them for a short while when I gave you your Beast Spirit, but other than that, I've been with them this whole time." He said.

I looked down, "I see."

"Is something else troubling you?" Angemon asked.

I nodded and looked at the angel Digimon, "I was wondering, am I the only human that can turn into a Digimon that isn't actually a Legendary Warrior?"

Angemon frowned, "Why would you ask such a thing?"

I raised my eyebrows, "So, I take it that there are others?"

"Yes, there are others, but they are not capable of transforming at the moment. They, like you, are not represented by elements, but abstract ideas. They are represented by courage, friendship, knowledge, reliability, sincerity, love, and kindness." Angemon said.

"So, why am I the only one out of these that is here?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, I do not know. It could be because you have unlocked the hope within you, whereas they are far from unlocking the potential inside of them. Actually, their spirits are kept within the Gatomon Village as well as the Patamon Village, waiting for the day when their spirits will be unlocked. As soon as they are ready, their spirits will be presented to them, should the need arise." Angemon explained.

I frowned, "I see. So, it wasn't expected that I would be able to wield the power of Hope, but it was sort of like a bonus that I could?"

He frowned, "I suppose."

I sighed, "I will think on this matter. If you think of anything else, please let me know."

He gave me a short bow, "Of course, Jade."

I left, heading the direction that Tommy had gone. I heard voices coming from a room up ahead and darted into a doorway across the hall. It sounded like Tommy and Teppei.

"So, Tommy." Teppei said.

"What?" Tommy asked. I could hear how uncertain he sounded.

My hands balled into fists, he better not try to hurt Tommy. I shook my head and took a deep breath, letting my hands relax. Tommy wasn't a kid anymore, he could handle himself.

"Well, I guess you think that you're all big and tough now that you've found some older friends to protect you, huh?" Teppei asked. "So tough you want the world to yourself."

I frowned, what was up with this kid? Was he that selfish and just plain stupid?

"So tough that you think you can boss us around, but know what I think? We're staying, and you and you're friends are leaving!" Teppei continued and I heard a struggle.

"That's why you're gonna tell them that you wanna go home!" Teppei said.

"What?" Tommy gasped.

I frowned; Tommy would never disappoint us like that, even if he _did_ want to go home.

"I know how goody-two-shoes like them work. Cry hard enough, and they'll have you home faster than you can yell, "Mama!" and with them gone, we can be the heroes that save the world. Now are you gonna tell them, or am I gonna have to get rough with you?" Teppei threatened.

I was just about to step out and help Tommy when a voice cut me off, "Hey!"

"Katsuharu!" Teppei exclaimed.

"Let him go, Teppei. You're not gonna beat anybody up unless _I_ say so, got it?" Katsuharu said.

I frowned, what was he? Some sort of mafia boss?

"Yeah." Teppei replied.

I heard Tommy cough as he got his breath back.

"What were you hoping to do, Teppei? Start a fight with those guys? There are more of them than us, remember?" Katsuharu said.

Well, at least Katsuharu had the brains not to pick a fight with us.

"I know, b-but I was just thinking that-" Teppei started, but Katsuharu interrupted him.

"Well, don't! I mean, you are right about him. He's just hiding behind stronger kids, but then, that's what weaklings like him always do. And it would be stupid to expect him to do anything different." Katsuharu said.

I almost laughed when I imagined these idiotic kids going up against any one of Tommy's spirits.

"This world is for the strong, Tommy. Little weaklings like _you_ shouldn't be here!" Katsuharu said.

"You're wrong." Tommy's voice came, small but unwavering.

"What?" Katsuharu asked.

"I'm strong. You're the one who's weak!" Tommy exclaimed.

I grinned as Katsuharu gasped.

"You're hiding behind Angemon!" Tommy said.

There was a crash from outside and I felt the building shake a little. I heard the boys rush out of the room and I quickly followed behind. Tommy looked back at me in surprise, "Did you hear all that?"

I nodded, "And you're right."

He smiled slightly before we picked up the pace. We finally made it outside to see that everyone else was already there.

"What happened?" Katsuharu asked.

"Our friend is back." Takuya replied.

I looked to see that Sagittarimon was, indeed, back, along with some other Digimon that also resembled centaurs.

"That's right! You're friend is back, but this time he brought a few friends of his own! You little brats are in for it now!" Sagittarimon said.

I sighed, "I thought that we were done with this idiot."

"Centarumon isn't too big on brains, but he's huge on brawn. And his Solar Ray attack won't brighten up your day." Bokomon explained.

"It's like a whole army." Tommy said, but he was still very calm, whereas Teppei and Katsuharu looked shocked.

"This is what you all get! It's payback for not handing over you're obsessions!" Sagittarimon said.

Zoe raised her eyebrows at me, "I told you-"

I took off my shoe and ran at her, "Would you stop saying that!"

Zoe laughed as she avoided my shoe.

"You're making fun of me, aren't you? Ready to attack, Centarumon?" Sagittarimon asked.

"Ready!" The Centarumon said together.

"Guys, get back! We'll take care of this guy!" Takuya and Katsuharu said, perfectly in sync.

"Look, just stay out of the way! You guys can't handle this!" Takuya ordered.

"_We_ can't? Sure we can! Angemon will fight them!" Katsuharu said.

"I'll handle this. Katsuharu, you and the others find somewhere to hole up outside of harm's way." Angemon said.

"Do you really think that you can take us all on?" Sagittarimon asked.

"Anyone with a brain could take you on." I mumbled.

Zoe giggled, "Don't tell those kids that."

The Centarumon started charging at Sagittarimon's signal and Angemon flew toward them. "Judgment Arrow!" Sagittarimon fired at Angemon.

Angemon started to fight them all by himself.

"Should we do something?" Zoe asked.

"Well, I don't know! Should we Spirit Evolve?" Takuya asked.

I raised my eyebrows, "Oh, fearless leader, why are you getting so flustered? Angemon obviously needs help, so we should help."

"You just stand back and watch Angemon go." Katsuharu said.

"Yeah, he's a fighting machine, and there ain't no one in the whole world who can stand up to him!" Teppei said.

Angemon continued to fight, holding off the Centarumon.

"You see what we mean?" Chiaki asked.

"Yeah, go Angemon!" Teruo exclaimed.

I looked at Angemon, who was surrounded by Centarumon. I leaned closer to Zoe, "Are they watching the same fight as us?"

She shrugged, "I'm guessing not."

"Charge!" Another group of Centarumon was headed for Tommy, Katsuharu, and Teppei.

"It's a trap!" Takuya exclaimed.

"Yeah, and we fell right into it." Koichi said.

"Wow, who knew that these idiots could actually come up with a trap?" I wondered aloud.

"No!" Angemon exclaimed, turning back to look at Katsuharu and Teppei.

"Don't forget about little old me." Sagittarimon said as he resumed his attack on Angemon.

"What are you doing? Run!" J.P. exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Katsuharu and Teppei exclaimed.

"Solar Ray!" The lead Centarumon fired at the three boys.

Teppei tripped and fell.

Katsuharu looked back, "Teppei!"

Teppei reached out for Katsuharu, "Katsuharu, help me!"

Katsuharu stayed in that spot, obviously not willing to risk himself for his friend. He was muttering to himself, his fear showing on his face.

"Shoot!" I grabbed my D-Tector and made a move for them, but then I saw that Tommy was already on his way.

The Centarumon were charging up their Solar Ray attack and getting closer to Teppei.

"Get out of there!" Katsuharu yelled.

The beam was getting closer and closer, when Tommy dove toward Teppei, rolling as he did to get Teppei out of the way of the attack.

Tommy knelt next to Teppei, checking to see if he was alright. Tommy stood up, facing the Centarumon, "You're a bunch of bullies, but you're not gonna bother us anymore! Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution! Korikakumon!"

Teppei, Katsuharu, Chiaki, and Teruo all gasped as they watched Tommy transform into Korikakumon.

"Still wanna fight?" Korikakumon asked. He swung his hammers at the Centarumon, knocking them aside easily. "Not so tough now, huh?"

"Come on, let's help him out!" Takuya said.

"Right!" We said. "Execute, Spirit Evolution!"

"Agunimon!"

"Lobomon!"

"DeviAngewomon!"

"Kazemon!"

"Beetlemon!"

"Loweemon!"

"How about we start with a hot hoof? Pyro Punch!" Agunimon fired at a group of Centarumon.

"Lobo Kendo!"

"Evil Charm!"

"Hurricane Wave!"

"Lightning Blitz!"

"Shadow Lance!" We each took care of a group of Centarumon, finishing them off.

"No way! They all turned into Digimon!" Teppei exclaimed.

"They're so brave!" Katsuharu said.

Bokomon scoffed, "I'm surprised you know what courage looks like. Their bravery is why the spirits chose them."

"I had no idea these humans could evolve." Sagittarimon remarked.

"And don't forget about little old me." Angemon said. "I believe we have unfinished business." Angemon punched Sagittarimon, sending him flying.

"Alright, if you guys are smart, you'll turn around and run right out of here." Agunimon said.

"And you'll run fast." Lobomon said.

"Okay!" The Centarumon ran as fast as they could.

I laughed, "Well, I was wrong. They are actually pretty smart."

"Man, we are good!" Agunimon said.

Korikakumon pounded his chest.

We de-digivolved and grinned at each other.

"Sorry, for real." Katsuharu said, holding his hand out to Tommy. "I shouldn't have called you weak, cause you're braver than I've ever been."

"You saved my life." Teppei said.

Tommy smiled and took Katsuharu's hand.

"It would be an honor if you'd let me call you my friend." Katsuharu said.

"Sure, you bet." Tommy said.

"Well, guys, now it's our turn to be brave and do something that we don't really want to do. We've had a great time here, but these guys are right. It's too dangerous, so I think we should go home." Katsuharu said.

"Seriously?" Teruo asked.

"Yep." Katsuharu replied.

The three kids nodded at him, smiling as they did. A cold wind blew across us and I looked up to see two unwanted figures laughing.

"How moving!" Crusadermon said.

"The Royal Knights!" Koji said.

"But, it would have been even more moving if you were defeated." Crusadermon finished.

"I guess we'll just have to do that." Dynasmon said.

"Not so fast!" Angemon rushed at the two Royal Knights.

Dynasmon closed in quickly, slashing his claw at Angemon, leaving him as nothing but data.

"Angemon, no!" Katsuharu yelled.

"Laser Lattice!" Crusadermon shot a golden net out of her hand, capturing Katsuharu, Teppei, Chiaki, and Teruo. "Now, now! Not everyone is lucky enough to be captured by someone as beautiful as me."

"Come on!" Dynasmon took hold of the net.

Tommy ran after them and grabbed the bottom of the net.

"Tommy!" We yelled, running forward.

"Hey, you ugly tin can, come back here!" Takuya exclaimed.

Dynasmon looked back at us, but Crusadermon waved him away, "Fret not, Dynasmon. Allow me the pleasure of handling these knaves."

Crusadermon landed right in front of us and took out a rose, "Ah, the sweet smell of defeat. Even if you're not worth the effort. Scarlet Tempest!" The rose petals flew at us, circling us and trapping us. "It is so unsatisfying to fight weaklings!" Crusadermon took off after Dynasmon.

We finally broke free of the whirlwind of rose petals and started running again, but they were too far away. "That's just great!" Takuya said.

"They're gone!" Neemon said happily.

"We can all see that." Bokomon said.

"Let's move!" Takuya said.

"I wouldn't do that." A voice came from behind us, along with the squealing of a Trailmon on the tracks.

We turned to see all the different kinds of Trailmon coming from all directions.

"Yeah, tracking them down might be dangerous, even." One of the Trailmon said.

"Hey, Trailmon!" Takuya said, running up to his partner from the race.

"You might as well just forget them." His old partner informed him.

"But they're our friends." Takuya said.

"They'll probably send you a postcard…someday." Another Trailmon said.

"What?" Takuya asked.

"They're headed toward Beanstalk Village." A Trailmon informed us.

"Beanstalk Village?" Takuya asked.

"Bingo! What would you call a village with a giant beanstalk growing out of the middle of it? Bean Town?" Takuya's partner asked.

"That's a beanstalk? Is there a mean giant too?" J.P. asked.

"Oh, J.P.! It goes into the clouds." Zoe said.

"Wow!" Neemon said.

"It's tall." Patamon said.

"Alright, Trailmon. Who wants to be the lucky one to take us to Beanstalk Village?" Takuya asked.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Um, I've got to go!"

"Yeah, I'm busy, too!"

"I've got to do laundry."

"I'm not going there!" The Trailmon fled, each going their separate ways.

"Come on, help us out!" Takuya begged.

"That's just great." Zoe said. "Now what?"

We heard snoring and all turned to look at the last Trailmon, who happened to be sleeping.

"Sounds like he's counting some sheep." J.P. said.

"Or buffalo." Zoe said.

"Well, whatever he's counting, he's our last chance." Takuya said.

"Rise and shine! All aboard for Beanstalk Village!" J.P. shouted at the Trailmon, but he didn't stir.

Takuya ran forward and began tickling the Trailmon, causing him to sneeze both Takuya and J.P. out of the way. "Hey! What was that about? Wake up? I'm trying to get some shut-eye, here." The Trailmon complained.

Zoe ran over and winked at the Trailmon, "I just love that you're so outspoken. You think a big, strong Trailmon could help me out?"

I rolled my eyes, was she trying to flirt with this massive Digimon?

I blinked when Trailmon blushed, "Why, sure! You can just call me Wormy!"

J.P. was drooling, "Zoe…"

"Actually, we all could use your help. We need a ride to Beanstalk Village." Koji said. I was happy to see that he wasn't the least bit affected by Zoe's attempt at flirting.

"No! You practically scare my wheels off yelling at me, and now you expect me to give you a lift?" The Trailmon prepared to leave.

"Well, that sure would be nice of you." Takuya said.

"Listen, I've never been there, and besides, I need more rest." The Trailmon got comfortable in order to get back to sleep.

"A moment, Mr. Worm. You're plate says otherwise." Bokomon said.

We read the plate, "You're the Beanstalk Village express." Takuya said. "My guess is that you were still a little sleepy and just forgot where you were going, right?"

The Trailmon shook his body, making the plate come off.

"What a giver." Zoe said flatly.

"He's all heart." Takuya matched her tone.

I sighed, "We're getting nowhere with this."

"Well, it's not like we have any other choices. All the other Trailmon left." Koji pointed out.

"I know. It just makes me so frustrated that we have to rely on this Trailmon while Tommy could be in real danger." I said, clenching my hands into fists.

Koji put his hands on my shoulders, "Hey, everything will be alright. We'll get to Tommy in time. In the meantime, Tommy is a smart kid. He'll find a way to keep himself and the others safe."

"Hey, I have an idea!" J.P. exclaimed. He ran to the other side of the station where a bucket of water and a washcloth sat. "Everybody needs a relaxing scrub now and then, and you Mr. Worm, are no exception." J.P. began wiping down the Trailmon with the water.

We all joined in, each scrubbing a different part of Trailmon. "Bet you've never had anyone fully detail you. You look great!" Takuya assured the Trailmon.

"You're looking so shiny, we might need sunglasses." Zoe remarked.

"Think of all the compliments you'll get in Beanstalk Village!" Takuya said.

"Here, are you hungry? I've got a chocolate bar we can split." I heard J.P. say from the front of the Trailmon. "I'm betting that chocolate bar seals the deal for our ride, right?"

"You're wrong." Trailmon replied.

"What? How come?" J.P. demanded.

"It's too far." Trailmon said.

"Why, you lazy train!" J.P. grumbled.

"That's it! I'm out of here!" Trailmon started moving down the tracks.

We hurried to jump out of the way, but Takuya was still stuck on top. "Come on you guys, get on!" Takuya said.

Koji opened the side door and leapt on. He then reached back to help Koichi up. "Jade, grab my hand." He said.

I leapt onto the train, using Koji and Koichi to keep my balance. From the other side of the Trailmon, Zoe had just been tackled by J.P. in an attempt to get J.P. on the train.

I shut the side door and sat down on the bench.

"Well, that worked out." J.P. said.

"Sure did. We got lucky." Zoe said.

"I call it skill." J.P. said.

I snorted and muttered, "What skill?"

Takuya entered through the door to the next cart, "Did everyone make it?"

"Yup. Amazing considering how fast Worm took off." Koji said.

"At least now he's calmed down." Takuya said.

The Trailmon stopped, sending us all to the floor of the cart. I knocked heads with Koichi as I went flying.

I rubbed my head, "Sorry Koichi. Why did we stop?"

Koichi rubbed his head as well, "I don't know."

"Let's go find out." Takuya said, leading the way off the Trailmon. Takuya groaned as he looked down the tracks.

"What?" I asked as I stepped down into the dirt. I looked toward the front of the Trailmon and saw that the tracks were broken over a deep chasm.

"Oh, man." Zoe said, looking down into the chasm.

"I'm kind of tired. Sleepy-bye nappy time." Trailmon said, closing his eyes.

"Well, I'm tired of your attitude, Worm boy!" J.P. snapped.

"Attitude, shmattitude. If there was tracks, I'd be more than happy to take you across." Trailmon said.

I scoffed, "Yeah, right."

"Hey guys, I think I have an idea." Takuya said.

"Great. Another one of your _fabulous_ ideas. I can't wait to hear what you've come up with this time." I said.

"Stop being such a downer. So, what's the plan?" Zoe asked.

"We're going to tear up the rails from behind us and fix the rails in front of us and make a ramp." Takuya said.

I blinked, "That's actually a pretty good plan."

Koji nodded, "This could actually work."

"Plus, Trailmon won't have a chance to escape." J.P. said.

"Alright, let's do it!" Zoe said.

We headed for the tracks behind Trailmon and the boys began unscrewing the rails. Zoe and I watched, knowing that we didn't have enough muscle power to pull it off.

"Hold up! If you tear up that rail, how am I gonna get back where I belong?" Trailmon demanded.

"We need this to repair the track ahead." Takuya explained as they carried the first rail toward the chasm.

"And now you can't run away." J.P. said smugly.

"Sit tight." Koji said.

"This will just take a second." Zoe said.

The boys began securing the rail to the broken one with a rope. I went back behind the Trailmon and pulled up one of the planks of wood.

"Need some help?" Koji asked, standing behind me.

I nodded, "Sure."

"I'll help too. Maybe you should go and help Zoe with the rope." Koichi suggested.

"Right, useless girl over here. Let's just send her someplace where she can't get in the way." I muttered.

Koji looked back and forth between us, "Is there something the matter?"

I shook my head, "It's nothing. I'm going to go help Zoe with the rope."

I walked up toward the front of the Trailmon and saw that Neemon had rope tied around him and that Patamon was frantically trying to get it off. I sighed, "Here, let me help." I set myself on the task of untangling Neemon.

I let myself zone out, just focusing on the knots in front of me. Once I had everything untangled, I grinned at Neemon, "You should probably stay away from the rope."

I looked up and saw that everyone seemed to be having a standoff with Trailmon.

"What a useless cause," Trailmon was saying, "you can't fight that. Sooner or later those Royal Knights will turn everything into data. Stuff's disappearing every day. The land I run on is starting to look like Swiss cheese. My friends, I tell you my boiler starts burning whenever I think of all my buddies that have gone down for the count. Let's face it; your friends have probably already been scanned. You might as well just pack it in."

Everyone was starting to let Trailmon's words get to them. It was obvious in the uncertainty in their faces. I frowned, this wasn't like my friends. They were usually so optimistic and happy that it was hard to be around them.

I watched as Takuya began working again, the fire still in his eyes. I smiled, no matter what kinds of doubts we faced, Takuya would always keep working. He would never let us lose hope.

"Huh? Takuya?" Zoe asked, looking at the goggle-head.

"Hey, didn't you hear me? Give it up!" Trailmon said.

"I'm not ever going to give up! Tommy, Katsuharu, and the others are waiting for us to rescue them. I'm not going to let them down! If we just keep believing in ourselves and going forward, we will win! We'll do whatever it takes to save this world, right?" Takuya asked.

Zoe nodded, "Uh huh!"

"Yeah, you bet." J.P. said.

We gathered around Takuya, letting him know that we believed in his words.

"That's right!" Zoe said.

"I mean, let's face it. The Digital World is kind of like our second home." Takuya pointed out.

"Yeah." Everyone agreed.

"You call this place home? And you guys really believe you can save it? You humans got a lot of moxy, but how can you save this place?" Trailmon asked.

"I don't have a set plan, but if we humans join up with all you digimon, I know we can do it! And before you know it, you'll be back to racing around a Digital World that's in one piece again!" Takuya said.

"When you put it that way, well that sounds kind of great! Guess we'd better make tracks." Trailmon said.

"You're going to take us all the way?" Zoe asked.

"How about shining me up before we head out?" Trailmon asked.

"Not likely." J.P. said, his irritation obvious on his face.

Everyone laughed. "Alright, you kids better get on board before I change my mind!" Trailmon said.

We hurried to get on Trailmon. "Do you really think this will work?" I asked.

"Let's hope so." Koji said, grabbing my hand.

I smiled at Koji, but noticed that Koichi was looking somewhat annoyed. I pulled away, "Um, I'm going to watch from that side of the train." I walked over to the other side of the train and looked out the window.

Trailmon began moving and suddenly we were flying over the chasm, just like Takuya thought we would. We landed with a jolt and I sat back in my seat, wondering if we had wasted too much time.

"Now Worm's on our side! That will make this ride smooth." Takuya said.

We went over a bump and we all flew out of our seats. The ride became even bumpier as we went through a series of loop-de-loops and curves.

I groaned, "What is this? A rollercoaster?"

I grabbed hold of the seat and closed my eyes, ignoring the sounds of my friends. I tried to breathe evenly as I fought against nausea.

I imagined a nice, peaceful beach. The waves were rolling in and the sun was beating down. The sounds of the waves rolling onto the shore were very gentle.

A hand grabbed my shoulder and I opened my eyes to see Koji's concerned blue orbs looking back at me, "Jade, are you okay? Trailmon says that we just have to make it through this tunnel and then we'll be in Beanstalk Village."

I hugged him, "I'm fine. Thanks."

He hummed as he wrapped his arms around me, "Maybe we should do that again."

I rolled my eyes, but relaxed into his arms, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well, you've been acting kind of strange lately, so I was really worried." Koji said. "I'm just glad that you're not mad at me."

"Of course I'm not mad at you." I said immediately.

"Then what's the matter?" He asked.

"Guys, get ready. We're just about to pull in to Beanstalk Village." Trailmon said.

Koji frowned, "Really?"

"Later." I promised, giving him a quick peck on the lips before I pulled away.

We stood up together and got our D-Tectors out. I noticed that everyone was staring at us and I blushed, choosing to look out the window instead. I blinked as the walls of the tunnel were replaced by open air.

Trailmon screeched to a stop and Takuya was the first out the door, "Katsuharu! Tommy!"

"We're all okay!" Tommy replied.

We all got off the train and I looked around at the situation. Tommy was tied up and on the ground. There were little grey digimon surrounding the other kids. I watched as one of the grey digimon used its attack to untie Tommy.

"Tommy are you okay?" Zoe asked.

"Yup." He replied.

I sighed in relief, "We made it."

Crusadermon shot a ribbon toward us while everyone was fussing over Tommy, but Trailmon countered with a shot of fire.

"Takuya, Koji, you've got to do it!" J.P. said.

The two boys nodded.

"I'm going to help." I said. Koichi shot me a look, but I ignored it. "I can't just sit back and watch you two fight for all of us."

Koji nodded, "I don't expect you to."

We all held up our D-Tectors.

"Ice into flame!"

"Thunder into light!"

"Wind into flame!"

"Darkness into light!"

"Unity Execute, Unified Spirit Evolution! EmperorGreymon!"

"Unity Execute, Unified Spirit Evolution! MagnaGarurumon!"

"Execute, Fusion Evolution! LadyBlackGatowomon!"

"How amusing. You insist on being thrashed by us again!" Dynasmon said.

"This time your impudence shall be rewarded more appropriately. We will not show you any mercy." Crusadermon said.

EmperorGreymon stuck his sword into the ground, "Pyro Dragons!" Dragons made of fire came from the cracks in the earth.

"Dragon's Roar!" Dynasmon countered with the beam from his hands.

The two attacks collided, showing equal strength.

"Magna Rockets!" MagnaGarurumon fired his rockets at Crusadermon.

Crusadermon just spun around and laughed.

"Feral Fire!"

"Wicked Claws!" I combined my attack with MagnaGarurumon's.

Crusadermon just kept spinning, her ribbons rendering our attacks useless. "Spiral Masquerade!" Crusadermon focused her attack on MagnaGarurumon.

I got behind Crusadermon, "Demonic Shock!" I sent a ball filled with dark energy at Crusadermon.

The attack hit Crusadermon in the back, "Why, you little! Laser Lattice!" Crusadermon sent an energy net at me.

"Darkness Noose!" I used my chain belt to hit the net out of the way.

While I was focused on the net, Crusadermon used one of her ribbons to pick up Koichi. "And check, you pathetic pawn."

"Koichi!" MagnaGarurumon shouted.

"No! Let him go!" Zoe exclaimed.

"Stop! Don't you hurt him!" MagnaGarurumon growled.

"What? I see! You can't attack because you wish to protect this human." Crusadermon tightened her ribbon around Koichi making him scream.

"Koichi!" MagnaGarurumon yelled. "Release him, you witch!"

I felt myself shaking, was there nothing that I could do?

"How dare you?" Crusadermon began attacking him with her ribbons.

I snuck up behind Crusadermon, "Poison Fang!" I bit into her neck, causing her to drop Koichi.

I hurried to grab him before he hit the ground, "Are you okay?" I leapt away from the angry Crusadermon.

Koichi looked at me with surprise, "You saved me."

I rolled my eyes, "Did you want me to just let Crusadermon push Koji around?"

"No, but…um, thank you." He said, a light blush covering his face.

I set him down, "Alright, go help the others and try not to get captured again."

He nodded, "Right."

"Enough dawdling! We can't keep Lord Lucemon waiting!" Crusadermon said, though she struggled to get up from my attack.

"Then let's finish this." Dynasmon said.

"Fist of Athena!"

"Dragon Thrower!"

Crusadermon attack MagnaGarurumon and Dynasmon attacked EmperorGreymon. My two friends fell back near the base of the beanstalk.

"The time has come." Dynasmon said.

"Your demise shall be glorious." Crusadermon said.

"Wicked Claws!" My attack hit both the Royal Knights. "You didn't forget about little old me, did you?"

"I have no time for a child such as you. Scarlet Tempest!" Crusadermon attacked.

I flew into the air, avoiding the attack, "Demonic Shock!" I sent a ball of dark energy at Crusadermon, hitting her in the chest and sending her flying.

"Dragon Thrower!" I gasped as the attack hit me in the back, sending me down to the earth.

I turned toward Dynasmon as I fell, "Darkness Noose!" I sent my chain flying at Dynasmon. It wrapped around Dynasmon and began squeezing.

"Enough!" Dynasmon broke through my chain, "Dragon Thrower!" This time it hit me directly.

I fell to the ground in front of EmperorGreymon and MagnaGarurumon before I de-digivolved into a human. "Sorry guys, I couldn't beat them."

"Royal Knights, stop! The key you seek is at the top of the beanstalk. It is a golden pod. When you take it from there, the luck will be undone." An old-looking grey digimon said.

"Elder one!" Zoe gasped.

Dynasmon flew up toward the top of the beanstalk.

"Once the key has been found, the land will once again sleep peacefully." The old digimon said.

We watched as the beanstalk turned into data.

"Wondrous! The data has been colored by the beauty of friendship!" Crusadermon said.

Zoe pulled me onto the train and shut the door behind us, "Go now, quickly!"

Trailmon started speeding away.

Everyone was looking out the windows as the land turned to data and the Royal Knights collected it, but I couldn't bear to watch.

I sighed, "Useless again."

"What are you talking about? You saved me, didn't you?" Koichi said.

I shrugged, "I'm sure Koji could have saved you by himself."

He sighed, "Listen, I was wrong before. When you risked yourself for me, you actually thought about what you were doing. You work really hard and I'm glad that you're here."

I looked at me feet, "Thanks."

He grabbed my hand and I looked at him in surprise, "You're here for a reason. Always remember that."

Trailmon stopped and everyone else was getting off the train. I quickly pulled away and followed after them, leaving Koichi on the train.

We looked out at the newest hole in the Digital World. "It's completely gone." Takuya said.

"The beanstalk and your village too." Tommy said.

"It's sad. Katsuharu, now you and your friends must leave this world." The old digimon said.

"Not without taking you Mamemon! We'll find you a place to live!" Katsuharu insisted.

"We will not leave the Digital World. This place is our home. Our village was destroyed, but we can always find another place to build, but if we were to lose dear friends like you that would truly be a tragedy. We can always plant another bean and nurture its possibilities. Who knows? This one might even grow as big as the one you planted for us, Katsuharu." The old Mamemon said, looking at a glowing golden bean in his hand.

"Alright. We'll go. You guys take care." Katsuharu said.

I looked away as the other kids were saying their goodbyes to the Mamemon. I wondered if this was the chance to leave that the angel boy had been talking about. I told him that I would take the first chance I got to get out of here.

"What's wrong?" Koji asked me.

"Nothing." I lied.

"Jade, you can tell me." He said, grabbing my hand.

I was reminded of when Koichi had grabbed my hand. I frowned, why did he do that? I looked into Koji's concerned eyes, "Don't worry. I'm just thinking about something."

"Do you want to tell me what you're thinking about?" He asked.

I looked around, "Not here. I'll tell you once we're back on Trailmon and headed for Steel City."

He nodded, "Alright."

"Okay, let's get going. Trailmon, could you take us back to Steel City and then take these guys back to the human world?" Takuya asked.

"Sure. Just hop aboard." Trailmon replied.

We all boarded the Trailmon and everyone sat down. Koji and I sat away from everybody else.

"So, what's going on?" Koji asked.

"Well…" I told Koji about my dream with the angel boy and then my discussion with Angemon. "So, I've been thinking about going home. I mean, I've sort of been a burden since I got here. You guys would be better off if I left."

Koji frowned, "Jade, how can you even trust what that little angel boy said?"

I shrugged, "It wasn't just him who brought it up. It was also pointed out that I worry you too much. You could be so much freer if I wasn't here to bring you down."

"Who told you that?" Koji asked.

I shook my head, "It doesn't matter. The point is that it's the truth. I don't belong here with the rest of you."

"Well, I can't exactly tell you what to do, but I want you to know that I don't want you to go. You aren't a burden. You're strong. You keep me strong. It's your decision, but I hope that you'll choose to stay with me." He said, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek before standing up.

I realized with a shock that we were already at the station. I swallowed as I got off the train with everyone else.

"Why are all of you staying here?" Chiaki asked.

"We've still got a lot of stuff that we need to take care of." Takuya said.

"Hey Tommy, why don't you come back with us?" Teppei asked.

Tommy shook his head, "I want to stay right here to help save this place. We have lots of digimon friends just like you do and we can't let them down."

"We're counting on you." Katsuharu said.

"Thanks." Tommy said.

"Well, good luck." Teppei said.

Koji looked at me, "Well?"

"What?" Everyone looked at me.

I bit my lip, but then I remembered Koichi's words. I shook my head, "I'm going to stay here," I looked at Koichi, "After all, I'm here for a reason."

Koji smiled and took my hand, "I'm glad."

"Wait, what's all that about?" Zoe demanded.

"Nothing, Z. It's really not important anymore." I said.

"Anyway, we'll get out of your guys' way." Katsuharu said. "Yeah, we're going back home!" He pushed the others onto the Trailmon. "Be careful, you guys, and Tommy," He looked back at Tommy, "your turn. Give me a shove this time." He grinned.

Tommy pushed Katsuharu into the train before laughing.

J.P. shut the door.

Trailmon blew his whistle, "The earth-bound express is hitting the rails!"

We waved goodbye as Trailmon pulled out of the station. Everyone else was running forward with the train, saying their goodbyes, but I held back.

Koji stayed with me.

I looked at him, "Well, there went your last chance to get rid of me."

He smiled, "Good. Now you can't talk about leaving me."

I giggled, "Don't worry; I would never leave you in that way."

His eyes turned serious, "I would never leave you either. I love you."

I blushed as the words that had plagued my mind for so long were so easily said by Koji. I hugged him, "Me too. I love you."

He pulled away slightly so he could look in my eyes. His joy was so clearly displayed on his face that I wanted to look away, but instead I leaned forward to press my lips to his. He kissed me back. Even though there were so many things to worry about, in that moment all I thought about was Koji.

**A/N: Well, there you have it. I hope that I didn't slaughter these episodes too much. Anyway, tell me what you think in a review. Thanks. :)**


	26. The Village of Beginnings

**A/N: I don't think sorry will cut it, so let's just ignore the fact that I haven't updated in almost a year, shall we? I would like to thank Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967, DD Leader Dark Heart of Water, Eaten Alive By Boredom, Digidestined Ninja of Sunshine, awsomeangel200, mitsuki uchiha namikaze, and Violet Lilypuff for reviewing the last chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon (aren't you all glad for that?).**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 26<br>The Village of Beginnings**

We rode on the Trailmon in silence, tension filling the cart. I was happy that I had sorted out my feelings and that Koji and I had progressed, but right now everyone was worried about Dynasmon and Crusadermon.

"I hope they all got home safely," Tommy broke the silence.

Zoe smiled, "I'm sure they're fine."

"Don't worry, Tommy, I'm sure Worm wouldn't let anything happen to them," Takuya reassure him.

I tuned everyone's voices out. The safety of those kids was out of our control now. There was no use worrying about it. What really worried me was Lucemon. There wasn't much time left before he would be free. The Digital World was getting smaller and smaller every day. We really needed a way to beat Dynasmon and Crusadermon. They were both extremely powerful on their own. Facing both of them at once was as twice as bad as facing Cherubimon. Unfortunately, it had taken the power of EmperorGreymon, MagnaGarurumon, and me as DeviAngewomon to defeat him. Even if we did end up defeating Dynasmon and Crusadermon, we would still have to face Lucemon.

"Well, here we are folks," Trailmon's voice brought me out of my thoughts, "get out, and get lost!"

I followed the others off of the Trailmon and let my eyes go to a giant rainbow-colored tree. There was light shining down from above, illuminating bushes growing beneath it.

"Wow, what a beautiful place to be born," Takuya said after they had all said goodbye to Trailmon.

Bokomon nodded, "Indeed. It's the only place for Digimon. The safety of this village and everything in it is critical to our very existence."

As we walked closer, I saw that there were Digi-eggs growing on the bushes. The eggs were so varied. Some had polka-dots, some had stripes, and some even had shapes. I smiled, "They're so beautiful."

I walked up to an egg that was purple with red stripes. It reminded me of BlackGatomon's gloves. If this was the place where baby Digimon were born, did that mean that BlackGatomon's egg was here too? Was I one step away from seeing my friend again?

J.P. screamed, turning my attention to my friends.

"Who's there?" Takuya asked.

A white and black bird Digimon with armor on its head, chest, and legs came swooping down from above. The Digimon glared, "Step away from the egg right now, intruder!"

"Swanmon is feathered, yet fierce. This Digimon's beauty is only rivaled by her protective instincts. The feathers will definitely start flying if you try to mess with _this_ mama," Bokomon informed us.

J.P. looked scared out of his mind, so we surrounded him, hoping to calm the bird Digimon.

"He didn't mean anything by it, honest," Takuya said.

J.P. bowed his head, "Yeah, I'm sorry."

"In that case, I bid you loving welcome," Swanmon said happily.

Everyone sighed, but I just groaned. Swanmon was too trusting. What if we were actually going to hurt these eggs? Bad people would lie in order to get close to them.

"I am Swanmon, the caretaker and protector of the Village of Beginnings," Swanmon informed us.

Everyone stared, "Wow!" We all stared at the hundreds of eggs around us, wondering how one Digimon could take care of them all.

"So, how exactly do these egg bushes work? Are they like other bushes? I mean, do they need water and sunlight in order for the eggs to grow bigger, or is it something weird? Also, if you took one of the eggs off and planted it, would it grow another bush?" I asked.

Everyone stared at me.

I frowned, "What? Even _I_ get curious sometimes."

They all laughed.

I pressed my lips together and glared at the ground.

Koji chuckled and patted my head, "Don't sulk. We were just surprised."

"Yeah, yeah," I blushed.

"If you want, I can show you how I take care of everything," Swanmon offered.

I nodded and smiled, "I would like that."

"Actually, I was taking care of them before you all came along," Swanmon brought a watering can out from behind a bush. She began watering a nearby bush, "I make sure they receive water and nutrients every day. They must be carefully nurtured. These eggs are the precious treasures of the Digital World. Other than water and sunlight, that is all eggs need to hatch. Sunlight will make an egg hatch sooner, but it isn't actually needed. Plus, eggs that were once stronger Digimon hatch sooner than other eggs."

I cocked my head to the side, "Strong in what way?"

Everyone blinked and Swanmon replied, "Are you referring to a specific Digimon?"

"It was a BlackGatomon," I replied, "When I was captured by Duskmon, BlackGatomon helped me out and gave me the power to fusion evolve."

Koichi was looking down at his shoes, "Sorry, it's my fault."

I shook my head, "I don't blame you. She willingly gave herself up for me. I just wanted to thank her."

"You have to stop blaming yourself so much," Koji said.

Takuya patted Koichi on the back, "Don't worry about it, buddy. We're all friends now."

"Yeah," Zoe, Tommy, and J.P. smiled at Koichi.

Koichi nodded, "Thanks, guys."

"This one's hatching!" Patamon's eyes were wide as he stared at a white egg with grey dots.

We all stared as the egg began to crack and then started glowing. Once the glowing died, a green Digimon greeted us, "Pabu!"

Swanmon caught the baby Digimon as it leapt into her arms. She showed us the baby.

I stared at the Digimon, wondering about my own birth. Being born into a military family had brought me around the world. I wondered what the chances were that I would end up in Japan at the exact time that children were being called to the Digital World. Plus, the fact that I so easily received my spirit when I wasn't supposed to bothered me a bit. I was either extremely lucky, or unlucky. I looked at the joyful faces of my friends, and then I focused on Koji's slight smile. I wondered if I had helped him smile easier because I was here. If I had, then it would be worth all the bad luck in the world.

Takuya and Koji's D-Tectors began beeping at the same time. We all watched as they pulled them out of their pockets to find the screens lit up.

"What's happening?" J.P. asked.

Takuya replied, "It's the four evil warriors."

"Their data seems to be reacting for some reason," Koji said.

"Zoe, remember the question you asked me?" Bokomon spoke up, "The eggs of the evil legendary warriors you scanned must have been sent back here to start over."

Zoe cringed, "So does that mean they'll be reborn someday?"

"After all that work?" J.P. complained.

"Wait," Takuya said, "When we scanned them, we purify them, right? Plus, Cherubimon's gone, so this time when they're reborn there's no way they'll be evil."

"I hope you're right," Tommy said.

I frowned; did that mean that there was a chance that the Digimon that we hadn't sent here through purification could end up evil? Was it just a matter of luck whether a Digimon ended up good or evil? I imagined a BlackGatomon that wasn't nice. Instead of helping me escape, she could have attacked me while I was still chained up. I shuddered at the thought.

A hand fell on my shoulder and I jumped. Koji's blue eyes were examining me, looking very concerned. He frowned, "Are you okay?"

I nodded, "Sorry, I was just wondering about the eggs that we didn't purify. If it was that easy to change a Digimon's personality does that mean that BlackGatomon could end up evil?"

"I really wish I could reassure you," Koji quickly pulled me into his arms, "But I really don't know. I only know that people can end up good or evil based on the influence of others. Cherubimon wasn't evil until Lucemon influenced him. BlackGatomon could have been the same way. Without the evil influence, I don't think that BlackGatomon will turn out evil."

I hugged him back, "I guess you're right. I just don't want to believe that the Digimon I once knew is gone. I mean, I've seen Patamon being born as a good creature, but he's not the same as Seraphimon."

"That's true, but Patamon is still a baby. Maybe when he digivolves he will seem more like Seraphimon," Koji suggested.

"I wonder if we'll still be here when that happens," I murmured.

Koji pulled away slightly to look at me, "Do you mean still in the Digital World, or still alive?"

"Either one, I guess. I really don't know what's going to happen anymore. Defeating Cherubimon was one thing, but can we really defeat Dynasmon and Crusadermon? Plus, we might also have to fight Lucemon," I said.

Koji nodded, "You're right. We're facing a lot of things right now. I don't know how it's going to turn out either, but I have learned one thing from travelling with the others, and that's to never give up. We may have never beaten the Royal Knights so far, but that doesn't mean that we won't beat them in the future. At least, that's what Takuya would say."

I giggled, "I think it would be a bit more like a war cry, but that was pretty close."

"Well, I'm sorry that I haven't been more inspired by past speeches made by either you or Takuya," Koji teased, "Maybe I'll have to try a different method to get your abilities."

I raised my eyebrows at him, "And what method would that be?"

Koji smirked before pressing his lips to mine. I rolled my eyes, but kissed him back. His hands went to my waist, pulling me closer.

"Koji," I pulled back, "Wait."

"What?" Koji asked.

I looked around, hoping that nobody had seen. Everyone was getting a little fed up with our overly romantic gestures lately. I blinked at the empty spots around us, "When did everyone leave?"

Koji laughed, "They left while you were spacing out. I would have left too, but I saw that you weren't paying attention."

"Where did they go?" I asked.

Koji pointed toward the big tree, "Apparently the tree is where all the baby Digimon are fed."

"We should catch up with the others," I said, grabbing his hand to pull him along.

Koji sighed, "Just when we were finally alone…"

"Well, now you know how adult couples feel," I grinned, "It's not often that we would have babies interrupting our private moments."

Koji's face went bright red.

I stopped, "What?"

"Well, that kind of talk just made me think about adults in relationships having babies, and—well…" Koji trailed off, looking at our interlocked hands instead of at me.

I blushed, "So that made you think about us having babies when we're adults."

"Jeez, don't say that out loud!" Koji covered his face with one hand.

I would have laughed at how embarrassed Koji was if I wasn't so completely embarrassed myself. I had to stop myself from fanning my blushing face, "Koji, we won't have to worry about that for a long time. We're only in the sixth grade right now. We've got about six more years before we will even think about having kids."

"You think we'll still be together in six years?" Koji asked. I couldn't tell whether he was surprised or not.

I shrugged, wondering if even hiding under a rock would be enough to hide my blush, "I don't know. I mean, I love you, but we _are_ still kids. It's hard to know what will happen in that amount of time, especially living in a military family. What about you? Do you think we'll still be together in six years?"

"Is it bad to say I hope so?" Koji asked.

I blushed and hugged him tightly, "Not at all. It makes me happy."

"We should get back to the others," Koji kissed me quickly before he pulled away, taking my hand instead.

I nodded and we began walking toward the tree. When we got there, our friends were just leaving. They were carrying food and a giant blanket while Swanmon was carrying a tray with tea on it.

We all got everything set up before we each took a seat on the blanket. I sat between J.P. and Koji, who was sitting next to Takuya, who was sitting next to Neemon, who was next to Bokomon and Patamon, who were next to Tommy, who were next to Zoe, which brought us back to J.P.

Swanmon stood behind Takuya, "So tell me, is it true that you've inherited the spirits of the great Legendary Warriors?"

"You bet your booties!" Bokomon said.

I shook my head at his improper use of the phrase, but kept my mouth shut.

"Zoe, aren't you going to put him down so you can eat?" J.P. asked while shoving food into his mouth.

J.P. was referring to the green baby Digimon from before, that was currently sitting in Zoe's lap. She smiled, "I would, but he cries every time I do."

"That's cause you spoiled him. Guess the little booger thinks you're his mom or something," J.P. glared down at the baby. His jealousy at the baby almost made me laugh.

"I wish my mom were here to spoil me," Tommy said.

Everyone looked at Tommy before looking to the ground. I bit my lip, my mom was hardly ever home. She had been constantly at work since the day that we had arrived in Japan. I hadn't had a proper conversation with her since the day that my parents had told me that we were moving to Japan. I had even gone against her wishes and took the subway while everyone else was busy. I had just felt so lonely. Everyone had left me at home because I was still sulking. So, I decided to grow up and look around the city by myself. It was my first time even going outside since we had arrived, so it was really amazing to me. I wondered if they missed me. I wondered if they even noticed that I was gone.

"That's why we have to stick together and do everything we can to save the Digital World. This is our home too and I'm proud to be a Digimon!" Takuya's fierce voice brought me out of my thoughts.

I agreed with everyone else, but was kind of confused as to how we had gotten on this subject.

Bokomon had tears running down his face, "Thank you all very much."

"Well gang," Zoe stood up, "What do you say we go try to talk some sense into those silly Trailmon and see about getting those babies home?"

"That would be wonderful," Swanmon said.

We all stood up to leave, but Koji grabbed my hand, pulling me away from everyone else, "Are you okay? You've been spacing out a lot today."

"Yeah. I guess I've just got a lot of stuff to think about. Maybe I should stay with Swanmon," I said.

He frowned, "Do you want me to stay with you?"

I shook my head, "I'll be fine."

He pulled me into a hug, "Let me know if you need something, alright?"

"Sure," I hugged him back, burying my face in his shoulder. I had the awful feeling that I wouldn't see him again after this, though that made no sense. It shouldn't take that long to get the Trailmon to come back here. I shook my head, trying to get rid of the worries.

Koji gave me a kiss on the cheek before he followed after the others. I waved as they began walking along the tracks to the cave where the Trailmon were.

"Are you sure you don't want to go with them?" Swanmon asked.

I nodded as I began helping her put away the stuff from our picnic, "Yeah. They'll be fine without me. I'm not very good with talking to people."

"Aren't you the one who received the spirit of the Princess?" Swanmon asked.

I nodded, "That doesn't mean that I'm very good with people."

Swanmon shook her head, "I am sure that you are wrong. I had heard that you were the one who convinced Cherubimon's army to stop the fighting. You must be pretty impressive to have accomplished that."

"I just used the beast inside of me. It's only because I showed them that I wanted to protect them as well as the human digimon. Luck must have been on my side," I shrugged.

"There is no luck strong enough to get you through an encounter with SaberLeomon and MetalGarurumon in one piece. You clearly know how to get people to follow you. Why don't you believe in yourself?" Swanmon asked.

I looked away, "I've just screwed up so many times. Doing one thing right doesn't make up for all the other times."

"You saved all those Digimon from Cherubimon's control. That's a pretty big accomplishment," Swanmon.

I nodded, "But now we are faced with even greater threats. Who's to say that it wouldn't have been better for them to stay with Cherubimon?"

The sound of a roar surrounded us before SaberLeomon leapt over a bush. He was panting, as if he had been running for a long time.

"SaberLeomon? Is everything okay?" I rushed toward the Digimon.

SaberLeomon shook his head, "Princess, we need your help. After we escaped, all of us beast Digimon went out to help the Digimon that were still missing their homes. Things had been going fine, but then we reached Metro City. Some of the stronger Digimon recognized us as being from Cherubimon's army. Now, there's a big battle going on between the human Digimon and the beast Digimon. We need you to come and put an end to the fighting."

"See, they need your help. Obviously SaberLeomon believes in you, and so do the other beast Digimon," Swanmon pointed out.

I sighed, "Fine. Anyway, can you let the others know what's going on? Tell them that I'll meet up with them later. Also, tell Koji not to worry. This is something that I have to do on my own. They have to continue doing what they're doing. This is how it was meant to be."

Swanmon nodded, "Of course. I'll make sure that they understand."

"Thank you, Swanmon," I said, "SaberLeomon, where are we going?"

SaberLeomon crouched, "Get on my back. I'll take you to Metro City."

I climbed onto SaberLeomon's back and he took off. I looked back at Swanmon, standing under the rainbow tree alone, and wondered when I would see my friends again.

**A/N: Well, there it is. Sorry that it's so short, but I will try to get the next one up soon. You can review if you want, but I understand iif I've lost a lot of people in the long time it's been. Thanks for reading :)**


	27. The Human Leader

**A/N: Here it is. It's only been a month since my last update, so you guys should be happy, right?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon in any way, shape, or form.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 27<br>The Human Leader**

I clung to the fur on SaberLeomon's back, wondering how such a huge creature could be moving so fast. We had been travelling for a couple hours and the only thing to do was watch the scenery around us. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to see. The Digital World was made up of more empty space than land. Luckily, SaberLeomon seemed to be able to run along the Trailmon tracks just fine, but it was making me pretty nervous.

"We're getting close," SaberLeomon's voice rumbled from beneath me.

I looked past SaberLeomon's head to see that there was a giant city looming in the distance. I wondered how bad the fighting really was. It must be terrible for SaberLeomon to come and find me. I wondered how the other beast Digimon were. I leaned close to SaberLeomon's ear, "How are the other beast Digimon? Are Dobermon and MetalGarurumon okay?"

"When I saw them last, they were," SaberLeomon replied.

I frowned, wondering if they were no longer travelling with each other. I wanted to ask, but I had the feeling that SaberLeomon didn't want to talk about it. He hadn't spoken much since we had begun our journey.

As we got closer to the city, I saw that some of the large buildings weren't whole. They were each missing some of their upper floors. I could also see signs of a fight going on. There were various attacks going through the air, trying to hit flying Digimon. The flying Digimon were also sending attacks down at the streets.

We reached the city limits and I saw groups of rookie Digimon huddled with each other, looking at the city nervously. I realized that they had nowhere to go. They couldn't go to a different city unless they had a Trailmon, but they couldn't stay inside the city with all the fighting.

SaberLeomon was panting underneath me, obviously tired from all the running. I leaned toward his ear again, "You can let me down now."

"Alright," SaberLeomon began to slow down. He weaved past the buildings, avoiding the worst fighting. We stopped in front of a building that was more ruined than most. It looked as if it used to have at least one more floor, but now the first floor was all that was left, and there wasn't much there either. The walls were crumbling, and there was glass everywhere.

I hopped down from SaberLeomon's back, "Thanks for the ride."

"Not a problem, Princess," SaberLeomon replied.

I looked around, but there appeared to be no fighting going on around us, "So, where is everybody? Is somebody in charge while you were gone?"

"I left MetalGarurumon in charge. Though I told him not to provoke the human Digimon, it appears that he did just that," SaberLeomon said.

I nodded, "It seems that that's the case. We'll have to find him first."

"You should become a Digimon first. I wouldn't want you to get hurt while in your human form. There's no telling what might happen," SaberLeomon urged.

I pulled out my D-Tector, "Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution! Gatowomon!"

Last time I had seen them, the beast Digimon had respected me for my Beast Spirit. It only made sense to show them that I was still a powerful beast.

"How do we find him?" I asked.

SaberLeomon tilted his head to the center of the city, "I'm sure that he's in the middle of all this."

I sighed, "Well, I guess we'll start by splitting up the fight."

"I should warn you, a powerful Digimon is leading the human Digimon," SaberLeomon said.

I shrugged, "That's only natural."

"You should watch out for an android Digimon. It has the power to copy your attacks," SaberLeomon informed me.

I nodded, "Let's get going."

A digimon came around the corner, interrupting us. It was a fox Digimon with nine tails and some sort of red and white rope around its neck.

The fox looked at SaberLeomon, "SaberLeomon, please help us. There is fighting going on near the rookie Digimon."

"Kyubimon, I will take care of it. Princess, please continue on to MetalGarurumon," SaberLeomon said.

The fox, now identified as Kyubimon, blinked, "This is the Princess of the Digital World?"

I shrugged, "Some call me that. Others would call me the Warrior of Hope. However, my friends call me Jade."

"Kyubimon, can I count on you to escort the Princess to MetalGarurumon?" SaberLeomon asked.

Kyubimon nodded, "Of course."

"Princess, I will meet you there as soon as I am able," SaberLeomon said before he turned toward where Kyubimon came from and left.

Kyubimon turned in the opposite direction, "Come, Princess, I will guide you to the battlefield."

Kyubimon took off running, not waiting for me to catch up. I quickly matched my pace to the fox Digimon's, sensing that the Digimon didn't accept me as someone it could trust. It was taking all my efforts just to keep up. I could hardly pay attention to where we were going. However, after taking a right turn I knew that we were no longer going toward the center of town. I wondered why MetalGarurumon wasn't in the middle of town. Was he in danger somewhere else?

I began to move faster, my worry for the beast Digimon giving me adrenaline. We turned to the left and Kyubimon came to a stop. I dug my feet into the ground, surprised by Kyubimon's sudden halt to our quick pace.

Kyubimon nodded toward the building in front of it, "What you seek is in there."

I looked at the building in front of me, confused by its appearance. It wasn't anything spectacular, just a grey building with few windows and a red door. It wasn't the appearance itself that confused me, it was the fact that the building had no damage done to it whatsoever. This hardly seemed like the place MetalGarurumon would be.

I stepped up to the door, wondering if I should knock or just enter. I was focusing, trying to hear what might be going on inside, when the noise of water alerted me to an unknown presence behind me. Oddly enough, Kyubimon had also disappeared.

My body automatically tensed, preparing for whatever the presence behind me might do.

"Hydro Pressure!" a deep voice shouted from behind me.

I dodged a blast of water, jumping to the right. I turned to face my opponent, wondering why they had attacked me without knowing anything about me. The Digimon I faced was a humanoid with water for hair and a white full-body suit.

The Digimon nodded, "I'm pleasantly surprised by your reaction time."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Splashmon," he replied.

I glared at him, "Why did you attack me?"

"My mistress wished to test you," Splashmon shrugged.

I felt my claws lengthen, "Then why doesn't your mistress face me herself? Or is she afraid to come face-to-face with a beast?"

"I fear nothing of the sort. I just wondered what pitiful creature enduring the pressure of the hopes of the beasts looked like," I turned to see a female android Digimon in silver armor smirking at me.

I frowned, "So, you are the mighty android Digimon that SaberLeomon warned me about? Funny, I thought that I would be facing an amazing warrior, not someone that stays in the shadows, using tricks to lure out your enemies."

"I also thought more of you. Who would have thought that you would be naïve enough to follow after someone you didn't know?" the android mused.

"Is it my fault that I trusted someone SaberLeomon trusted?" I asked.

The android shook her head, "I had heard marvelous stories of a Digimon that convinced the beast Digimon to pursue peace instead of fighting with Cherubimon. I suppose that I should have expected to be disappointed."

"You've made one mistake," I said, "I may look like a Digimon, but I am actually a human. As an outsider, it is easy for me to see things that you Digimon don't."

A grin covered the android's face, surprising me, "Then perhaps you should show your power. Stop the battle between the human and beast Digimon. Only then will I acknowledge you."

I glared, "Why should I care whether you acknowledge me or not? I have already proven myself to many."

"So, that means that you will just watch as the human and beast Digimon tear this city apart?" the android asked.

I sighed, "No. However, my actions are merely because SaberLeomon asked for my help, not because of you."

"I look forward to seeing your performance. Come, Splashmon," the android said.

"Yes, Androwomon," Splashmon said, following his mistress as she walked away.

I frowned, thinking that this had just gotten a whole lot more complicated.

**A/N: Well, there you go. Sorry that it's short, but it's just kind of an introduction to this part of the story. Anyway, reviews are welcome. Thanks for reading :)**


	28. Playing the Game

**A/N: Well, here it is. I'm kind of proud of how fast I was able to get this done. I would like to thank Layla347 and Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 for reviewing the last chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 28<br>Playing the Game**

"What the heck?" I growled. Androwomon was clearly just playing with me. Wasn't she the one leading the human Digimon? It didn't make any sense for her to want me to stop the battle. Maybe she really just wanted to fight me. That would make things a lot easier.

I really needed something to let out my frustration. The noise of battle still reached me from the center of town, so I began to head in that direction. Breaking up a fight and possibly taking part in it would surely make me feel better.

Making sure to avoid any attacks along the way, I went toward the center of town. I stopped when I caught sight of the main battle. There was a fountain in the middle of a large square, but it had been split apart by the Digimon surrounding it. There were attacks flying everywhere. I leapt back to avoid a blast of fire.

The human inside me was terrified. I had fought before, but this was like a war zone. I reached for a fallen Digimon in front of me, but it turned into an egg before I could even get a good look at it. I watched as it flew into the sky, heading for the Village of Beginnings.

The beast inside me was furious. What was the point to all this death and destruction? It didn't do anyone any good for these Digimon to be fighting. Survival should be their real concern, but they're too worried about an old rivalry to realize that the world is crumbling around them.

I grabbed the whip at my waist and jumped right into the middle of the square. I landed on what was left of the fountain. I cracked my whip into the air, "Stop it, everyone!"

The Digimon closest to me turned to look in surprise. Some looked annoyed, but others began to recognize me.

"Isn't that Gatowomon?"

"You mean the Princess?"

"Why is the Princess here?"

"Princess!"

I looked around the square, "What is going on here? Why are all of you fighting?"

The Digimon all tried to talk at once.

"These beasts are intruding."

"Our friends were hurt by the humans!"

"You destroyed our homes!"

"That was self defense!"

"We lived here once too!"

"You abandoned your homes when you decided to fight alongside Cherubimon!"

Amidst the shouts, a familiar mechanical wolf Digimon made his way toward me. MetalGarurumon bowed, "Princess, thank you for coming."

"MetalGarurumon," I acknowledged him, "What is the meaning of all this fighting?"

The Digimon turned to hear MetalGarurumon's answer, "The human Digimon and the beast Digimon have different views and have thus begun fighting. Human Digimon insist that the beasts cannot be trusted since we sided with Cherubimon. Beast Digimon still feel like the humans think they are above us."

I nodded, "I see. You all are fighting for a cause that you believe to be just. However, none of you are looking at the big picture."

"How can you say that? You come to us to bring peace, yet you are in the form of a beast Digimon. It is clear which side you are on," Androwomon came to the front of the human Digimon.

MetalGarurumon growled, "How dare you insult the Princess's pure wish for peace?"

"See how the leader of the beasts sticks up for her?" Androwomon smirked at me, "When has MetalGarurumon wished for peace? He is one of the fiercest Digimon when we are battling. This is clearly an attempt to distract us."

The human Digimon around her all began nodding their heads.

"That's right!"

"She doesn't really want peace."

"She's had time to get to know the beasts."

"Does the Princess even care about how we feel?"

I needed to diffuse the situation, "Wait a minute. You are all misunderstanding something. I can understand both sides. I am both human and beast. I have fought against Cherubimon myself. Fighting for the sake of the Digital World is the only reason I am here."

"If that's the case, why didn't you destroy the beasts that followed Cherubimon in order to purify them? Instead, you let them run wild. You saw what they did for Cherubimon to destroy the Digital World. Shouldn't it be a priority to turn them back into Digi-eggs for the protection of the Digital World?" Androwomon challenged me.

"Androwomon," I stared her down, "You are under the assumption that the beast Digimon are mindless creatures that cannot see right from wrong. After they saw that Cherubimon's ideas were not the best, they decided on their own to leave his side. They also wish to protect the Digital World. It is their home. Is the Digital World not your home as well?"

Androwomon frowned, "You say that your goal is to protect the Digital World, but can you actually do it? You use words in order to show us human Digimon your humanity, but can you back it up with action?"

"Are you challenging me?" I asked. I held back a smile.

"See how she jumps at the chance to fight me?" Androwomon pointed out, "She clearly has no control of the beast inside of her."

I sighed, "I clearly do have control. If I didn't, I would have clawed your eyes out by now. A person can only take so much of another's challenge, whether they are beast or human."

"But, as a Princess, shouldn't you be in more control of your feelings than the rest of us?" Androwomon asked.

"Who are you?" I asked, "Because clearly you have a very set list of what a Princess should be. What gives you the right to tell me that I'm not good enough? I'm just trying to make life better for everyone. I'm not above you. As the Princess of the Digital World, I protect the Digimon. It is not my job to rule over them."

Androwomon frowned, "Is that not the duty of a Princess?"

I shook my head, "Not this princess."

"Princess, everyone is getting restless," MetalGarurumon said, drawing my attention to the crowd around us.

I looked to Androwomon, "Shall we settle this? Meet me here tomorrow morning at daybreak. At that time, I will show you that I can protect this world."

Androwomon nodded, "I agree to fight you. However, if I win, you shall name me as Princess of the Digital World."

"No!" MetalGarurumon's voice led the protests of the beasts around us.

I held my hand up to silence them, "If I deem you worthy of the position, then I will be glad to."

"Good," Androwomon smiled as she left.

The Digimon all began to shuffle away, chatting as they did.

"Wait," I called out, "I want everyone to know that there is to be no fighting between the beast and human Digimon. There are better ways to figure out this mess. At least until the end of the fight, please listen to my words."

"The beast Digimon will not attack the human Digimon," MetalGarurumon declared.

Splashmon stepped forward, "The human Digimon will also agree to your terms."

I nodded, "Thank you."

The Digimon quickly dispersed after that, leaving MetalGarurumon as the only Digimon in the square. I sighed and jumped down from the fountain, letting myself fall out of my Digimon self and back into my human body.

MetalGarurumon blinked, "So, this is what you really look like?"

"Yes," I nodded.

"You are so small," MetalGarurumon noted, "How do you protect yourself?"

I smiled, "We can't all have giant metal bodies. Plus, I don't really have to protect myself in the human world as I would in the Digital World."

"I see. Well, should we head over to where the other beast Digimon are camped?" MetalGarurumon offered.

I shook my head, "I do not want to show favoritism. I shall stay here."

"Princess," SaberLeomon came into the square, "I have brought you some dinner."

A blue and white dog Digimon with boxing gloves and a red headband brought forward a handful of apples. The Digimon bowed before giving them to me.

I smiled at the Digimon, "Are these meat apples?"

The Digimon blinked before nodded.

"What is your name?" I asked.

SaberLeomon stepped forward, "This is Gaomon. He is a rookie beast Digimon. His home was destroyed by the Royal Knights just a few days ago."

Gaomon looked up at me, "Can you really protect the Digital World?"

"Maybe not by myself, but with the help of the other Legendary Warriors, I'm sure that we can do it," I said, though my voice was wavering.

Gaomon looked down, "So, it's that hopeless?"

"No! I mean, that's not what I meant. They can do it. I'm sure they can. I'm just unsure about my own role in this. I thought it was to help you all, but maybe I can't do it," I said.

"Please," Gaomon looked up at me, "don't give up on us."

I smiled, "I won't. Don't worry, I'll fight 'til the end."

Gaomon smiled at me.

SaberLeomon cleared his throat, "Anyway, we should leave you alone. We don't want the human Digimon to get the wrong idea. Just go to the east side of the city if you need anything."

I nodded, "Thanks."

The three beast Digimon walked away.

There was a gasp from the opposite direction and I turned to face whoever the human Digimon had sent. To my surprise, instead of a Digimon, there was a young girl in front of me. She had dark green hair that was pulled into a side bun and glasses over bright red eyes. She was wearing a white halter top dress with ruffles along the skirt that went down to her knees and black flats.

"Jade?" The girl asked.

I blinked, "Do I know you?"

"Ah, um, no. I just heard that Jade was the name of the girl who had the spirit of the Princess. My name is Miyako," She said, looking down and pulling on her skirt.

I frowned, "Why are you here? Are you one of the children that were called to the Digital World to see if you matched up with one of the spirits? Why didn't you leave with the others?"

"That's a lot of questions," Miyako smiled, "I guess I should say that yes, I was called to the Digital World. However, it was not Ophanimon that called me."

"Then Cherubimon was the one who called you?" I asked.

Miyako shook her head, "It was something inside of me. I just had the feeling that I needed to go to the train station. When I got there, I followed the other children and made my way to the Digital World."

"Why are you still here? If you've been here that long, you should know how dangerous it is. Plus, it looks like you don't have any Digimon to protect you. How did you survive?" I asked.

Miyako sighed, "Androwomon."

"She helped you?" I asked.

Miyako shook her head, "I am Androwomon."

"What?" I demanded, "You, a mere child, are Androwomon?"

Miyako frowned, "I'm not a child."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry. I forgot how being here can make you grow up," I apologized sincerely.

Miyako shook her head, "The Digital World did not make me grow up. The place I grew up in forced me to grow up. This place is actually pretty easy to deal with."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I apologized again.

Miyako smiled, "It's alright. I have a big brother who cares about me. He's always taken care of me and keeps me safe."

"Wait, if you're Androwomon, why are you talking to me like this?" I asked.

Miyako's smile faded, "I wanted to meet you. Since the first time I heard about you, I wanted to know you. You were the amazing girl who fought with the Legendary Warriors even though you didn't belong with them."

I winced, "What do you mean?"

"I'm like you. I hold the spirit of knowledge. Like you, I am not represented by an element, but by an idea. There is no way that I'll ever belong with the Legendary Warriors. Yet, you stand beside them. I admire that you stay with them even though you don't belong," Miyako said.

I frowned, "Just because we're different doesn't mean that we can't fight alongside them."

"Yes, it does," Miyako insisted.

I shook my head, "If that was the case, then we wouldn't be able to stand next to the Digimon. After all, we are human."

"Then maybe we should leave," Miyako said.

"You would leave them?" I asked, "Even though you have the power to help them?"

"Just because you have the power, it doesn't mean that you should use it. You must choose your battles," Miyako said.

"Why did you choose to fight me?" I asked.

Miyako shrugged, "I wanted to see who was stronger."

"Why do you stay with the human Digimon? You clearly don't care about them," I said.

Miyako sighed, "Like I said, I wanted to meet you."

"So, you started this battle merely to see if you could best me in battle?" I demanded.

Miyako nodded, "That's right."

I turned away from her, "I take back what I said earlier. You are definitely a child. You may be the Warrior of Knowledge, but you seem to be lacking the knowledge of sympathy."

"You're right. I don't know how to be sympathetic. People often compare me to ice, saying that, while I look pretty, I am merely cold," Miyako said.

I glared at her, "Don't say that! Ice may be cold, but its beauty can move hearts. Ice can have any array of emotions."

Miyako blinked, "What are you talking about?"

"Maybe you should think about it yourself. Since you are the bearer of knowledge, it should be easy for you, right?" I challenged.

Miyako began to walk away, "I shall think on it. Will you give me until morning?"

"Take as long as you need," I said, watching her go.

I wondered how a girl like that could end up in the Digital World. She acted like she didn't care, yet she followed some instinct deep inside her in order to get to the Digital World. It just didn't add up.

I yawned, "Oh well, I should get some sleep before tomorrow."

I put the thoughts of Miyako out of my mind and prepared to go to bed.

**A/N: Are you thoroughly confused? Good. That was my intention. Please leave reviews. Thanks for reading :)**


	29. The End of the Princess

**A/N: Well, here you go. I think I'm getting this updating at least once a month thing down. Of course, school starts tomorrow, so you guys probably shouldn't get used to it. Thanks to Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967, Eaten Alive By Boredom, and awsomeangel200 for reviewing the last chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.**

**The Warrior of Hope  
>Chapter 29<br>The End of the Princess**

"Jade, wake up." Someone was shaking my shoulder.

I slowly opened my eyes to see that Miyako was looking down at me, blocking my view of the ceiling. I yawned, "What is it?"

"I understand now," Miyako said.

I frowned, "What do you understand?"

"What you were saying about ice. I thought about it all night, and I finally remembered that someone I once knew was like ice. He was focused and had a goal to drive him. Even with that, he was always smiling and bright. I thought seeing him like that would melt my frozen heart, but maybe it doesn't need melting?" Miyako looked at me hopefully.

I smiled, "Why do you think that is?"

"Maybe," Miyako bit her lip, "because ice isn't always a bad thing? It can become strength."

"That's right, you shouldn't have to change anything about yourself. Don't let other people's words affect you so much. Live life the way you want to," I said.

Miyako frowned, "What about you?"

"Huh?" I asked.

"Well, you're so concerned about how the Digimon view you that you can't even take care of the problem. Shouldn't you just take control and tell them to deal with it?" Miyako asked.

"Well," I said, "it's not my life. I'm making decisions that will affect all of them. It's not fair of me to just make decisions on my own. Besides, they won't trust my decisions without trust, and a certain android Digimon turned the human Digimon against me."

Miyako grinned, "Was that me?"

I rolled my eyes, "Of course not."

"So, what should we do about today?" Miyako asked.

I blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't really care enough to fight you anymore. So, what should we tell the Digimon?" Miyako asked.

I sighed, "I'll figure something out."

"How about I just surrender?" She asked.

I frowned, "After all that? It would be pretty hard to convince them that I am trustworthy now. I'll talk to them."

"Princess, it's time." MetalGarurumon's voice echoed into the building.

"I'm on my way," I called.

Miyako pulled out a purple and silver D-Tector, "Are you ready?"

I nodded, "Let's do it."

"Execute, Spirit Evolution!"

"Execute, Fusion Evolution!"

"Androwomon!"

"LadyBlackGatowomon!"

Androwomon stared at me, "What is that?"

"My fusion evolution. It combines my beast and human spirits," I said.

Androwomon blinked, "Wow."

"Let's go," I said.

We left the building to find that the human and beast Digimon had created a sort of ring around the square. I looked around at all the Digimon and saw the same look on all their faces. They all wished for this fight to happen. Whether beast or human, they all looked bloodthirsty at the moment.

"Sorry to disappoint you all, but we are not going to fight. I have spoken with Androwomon and we have come to understand each other. Now, I wish for you all to understand something about me. I said before that I was both a human and beast Digimon. Right now, you are seeing me as a combination of the two," I said.

"So, you aren't going to pick sides?" A Digimon called out.

I shook my head, "I shouldn't have to pick sides. You all should be capable of getting along. Do you know why? You all have something in common. The Digital World is your home. Yet, you expect me to direct you all. I assume that you all know something about my adventures in the Digital World. However, you all seem to have forgotten that this is all just an adventure to me. I will not be in the Digital World forever. I will go back home to the human world."

"You all need to start seeing me for who I am," I said. I took a deep breath and let myself fall out of my digital form.

I heard some gasps as the Digimon took in my human body.

I looked around at all of them, "Right now, I am just a human. I was called to the Digital World to help you all fight a great evil. Though I look like the "Princess" you once knew, I am not her. I am just a human. In my world, I am still seen as a child. However, you all decided to turn to me for help when things looked tough. In reality, I could have just refused the call, leaving you all to figure this out for yourselves. I could have, but I didn't. I decided that it was my job to save you all from yourselves. Even though I didn't have confidence in myself, I knew that you all relied on me. Now, I'm asking you to think for yourselves. I would love to fix your problem, but I don't think it's something that an outsider can fix. You all have to realize that the divisions that you are making are just causing pain. Plus, you are just helping the enemy. While you are here arguing, Lucemon is getting stronger. My friends are doing their best to keep him from awakening, but even the Legendary Warriors are having trouble. So, will you all just sit here attacking each other, or will you help the rest of your world?"

"We will fight with you, Princess!" A voice cried out.

"Princess! Princess! Princess!" A cheer came over the crowd.

I held up my hands to silence them, "No. I am no longer the Princess. I am just a human. My name is Jade. Just because I can change into a Digimon doesn't mean that I can take the Princess's identity."

"I'm so glad to hear that. It isn't beautiful to pretend to be something you can never be." Crusadermon's voice startled me.

I looked up and saw that the pink Digimon and her counterpart were staring down at us.

Androwomon looked at me, "Who are they?"

"These are the Royal Knights! They are serving under Lucemon and collecting data. You all voiced your resolve to fight, will you show it to me now?" I called.

A cheer went up and the Digimon all began to attack.

Androwomon picked me up and dodged an attack that went astray. She brought me to the roof of a nearby building.

I smiled, "Thanks."

"So, what now?" She asked.

"Now, we fight," I said.

She raised her eyebrows, "Even after that big speech about them learning to fight on their own?"

"Well, I still think that I should fight to protect the Digital World. After all, that's the whole reason I was brought here," I said.

Androwomon nodded, "I see."

I pulled out my D-Tector, "Execute, Fusion Evolution! LadyBlackGatowomon!"

I opened my eyes in my digital form only to see hundreds of eggs flying into the air at once.

Crusadermon and Dynasmon were laughing as they watched the eggs float unsurely in the air.

"Poor things, they have nowhere to go now that we have destroyed the Village of Beginnings," Crusadermon said.

"You what?" I screeched.

Dynasmon smiled, "Did you think those pitiful Legendary Warriors could actually protect it?"

"Well, should we put these eggs out of their misery?" Crusadermon asked.

I flew right at her, "Wicked Claws!"

Instead of slashing the air in front of Crusadermon, I slashed her directly. She yelled out in frustration, but I just hurried into my second attack, "Darkness Noose!"

My belt wrapped around her. I knew that it would only trap her for a second, but a second was all I needed. I leaned to Crusadermon's neck, between her armor, "Poison Fang!"

I injected my lengthened fangs into her neck. She wrapped her arms around me, letting me take on all of her weight, "If I must go down, then we shall go down beautifully together. Like lovers committing suicide together."

I flapped my wings desperately against Crusadermon's added weight. If I could just hold on long enough, then Crusadermon would lose her grip and fall to the ground.

"Out of my way," Dynasmon shouted. I watched as he swatted Androwomon into the ground. He then proceeded to fly down to the broken fountain.

I could only watch as he began taking the data for Metro City from the now destroyed fountain.

"Slide Evolution! MachRenamon!" I watched as a mechanical fox Digimon flew straight at Dynasmon. The new Digimon pulled giant gun from her back, "Giga Cannon!"

MachRenamon fired two energy waves from the cannon, hitting Dynasmon directly.

As I was distracted, I didn't notice that I was slowly getting closer to the ground. Crusadermon's armor was dragging me down a lot. I tried to flap harder, but it was no use. I fell to the ground. Only then was Crusadermon finally knocked out. Unfortunately, the ground was disappearing quickly. I shook Crusadermon's arms off me and took to the skies. I spotted MachRenamon as she hit a building.

I flew down and caught her before she hit the ground. In my arms, I watched as she became Miyako once again. I swallowed, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "But it looks like we couldn't save Metro City."

I looked around and saw that the ground was completely gone, leaving the few Digimon left huddling on the train tracks. I was happy to see that SaberLeomon had made it out okay, but MetalGarurumon hadn't been so lucky.

"Splashmon!" Miyako called out.

I flew over to her watery companion, leaving her in his arms.

"So, what now?" Miyako asked.

"I need to find my friends. What about you?" I asked.

Miyako shrugged, "I guess I'll head back home."

"You know, my friends would love to meet you. They would certainly welcome any help to fight against the Royal Knights and Lucemon," I said.

Miyako shook her head, "Sorry. That's not really my thing. I'm no hero. Plus, I have a long way to go before I will be able to stand proudly before you all."

"Alright. I guess I can understand that," I said.

"Hey Jade, do you think you could do me a favor?" Miyako asked.

I nodded, "Sure. What do you need?"

"Do you think you could keep my existence a secret? I wasn't supposed to be here. Not like you. After seeing what you can do, I realize that you really do belong here. Someone like you, who tries their best do the right thing, definitely belongs with the Legendary Warriors," She said.

"If that's what you want, then I won't tell anyone. I hope that one day you realize that you being here wasn't a mistake. Even though you might not be meant to fight, meeting you has made me remember that I am human. I am no Princess. I just stumble around trying to do what I can. You made me realize that it's okay to be like that. So, thank you," I said.

Miyako grinned, "No problem. After all, you taught me something too. Now, I should get going. Splashmon, could you turn into a Trailmon to take me home?"

Splashmon nodded, "Of course, my lady."

I watched as Splashmon transformed into a Trailmon before my eyes. He took the form of angler. Splashmon took off down the tracks, heading back to the human world.

"Princess—no, Jade, where are you going next?" SaberLeomon asked.

I looked down the tracks, "I need to find the other Legendary Warriors.

"It is said that only two places are left in the Digital World. There is the Autumn Leaf Fair and Ophanimon's Castle. Which of these places do you think they would go?" SaberLeomon asked.

"Let's go to the Autumn Leaf Fair," I said.

SaberLeomon looked up at me, "You should save your strength. If you turn back into a human, I will carry you on my back."

I nodded, "Thank you." I let myself fall out of my evolution. SaberLeomon let me onto his back and we set off for the Autumn Leaf Fair. I hoped that this would turn out better than the last time he had taken me someplace.

**A/N: Well, what did you think? Reviews are welcome. Thanks for reading :)**


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